Advehnt Guard 5 - Auspicious Guardian

Carolyn approaches Dana "Hello there, I don't believe I've seen you here before. I'm Carolyn Blythe, I work as a therapist here. Are you here to see someone?"

I wave. “Yeah, it would be you, actually. Are you free right now? Do I need to pay you for your time?” Shit, why would you bring that up? I guess if worst comes to worst I can pretend to agree and then weasel out of it.

"I'm not seeing any patients right now, so I am free, yes. As for payment, that depends. Are you here to receive therapy?"

“Uh.” Well, yeah, obviously it doesn’t qualify by any definition as that. “No. Not interested in that. Just need to ask a few questions.”

"In that case I'm willing to help provide answers in any way I can. No price attached, of course."

“Thank you.” I smile, and roll my neck to crack it. In the sense of snapping joints like cracking your knuckles. Obviously I don’t spontaneously dislocate my skull. “I guess I’ll start with the simplest. Do you know a woman named Grace Rollins?”

"Yes, she's one of my patients. Are you a friend of hers?"

I pause. “Yes, that would be it. My name is Dana Craig. We’re acquainted, her and I. And that would be the relationship with you I’d guess. When was the last time you saw her? I assume it would be in this context, but knowing if you happened to see her at another location would also be fine.” (edited)

"Oh dear, I hope you asking this doesn't mean anything happened to her. She had an appointment here yesterday, early in the day."

I smirk. “I see. That makes some amount of sense.” All as I could’ve guessed so far. Now where to go from here? Perhaps it’s more important to make my own motives known early on, and only then gather information. Elicit pity or discomfort. “I don’t have any concrete proof something’s happened. Obviously then I would’ve gone to the police, not her therapist.” Hah. “And it’s not been long enough for any sort of missing person report. But I’m concerned.”

"Right, I see. It's unfortunate, but I don't think there's much I can do to help you find her. Though if she's in danger, I certainly hope for her safe return as much as I'm sure you do."

“Yeah.” Eager to get me out of your hair, are you? I take on a more serious, solemn expression. “It’s not that I don’t sympathize with you. It’s codified by law, but client confidentiality is more than that. That sort of trust is the whole reason anything productive is possible; the ethos of your entire career. It’s like… a promise. The same sort of oath the more physical sort of doctor takes. You accept those with broken hearts and minds and perish the thought of abusing this state of vulnerability. As long as it doesn’t go to your head, I think that’s a very noble pursuit. A secularized form of some of the social functions served by a confessional.”

4:21 PM

I shake my head. What the fuck was that? “I’m rambling. I just mean that I can’t fault you for holding back on relevant information. But really, do you think any of those motives apply here?”

4:23 PM

“I’m not a policeman or the government. Just an interested party.” I chuckle. And despite the lighthearted connotations most would attach to that word, my performance of the act could even be described as dark. “And I have reason to believe you’re past the point of healing her.”

Carolyn takes a deep breath before responding "I must apologize, I seem to have caused some confusion. You are correct that I cannot divulge too much about my sessions with Grace, but that wasn't what I meant. I simply don't have any information that I can offer you. You can feel free to doubt me, but it won't do you or Grace any good."

“I think we’re speaking past each other, yeah. I don’t like being dishonest, so I guess I’ll let you know my circumstances.” I lean forward and put my hands together like thanos in that one gif.

4:38 PM

“Yesterday I met Grace. Judging by what you’ve said, it would have to be after when you did. She asked me for shelter. To stay in my home. Without telling anyone, least of all you. Mentioned you by name, Ms. Blythe. Said some choice words. It was a really unusual event.” Shit. Was that tipping my hand too much? “Obviously I don’t put too much stock into something like that. I just want to ensure she’s okay right now, and knowing if you somehow set her off could be a valuable clue. I did agree to protect her, after all. But you’re not obligated to respond to my pestering. I can stop bothering you, draw conclusions on my own time.”

4:47 PM

“She’s gone now. I think circumstances will be very bad for me if she really is missing or harmed. But I’m spiteful enough to make them quite inconvenient for you as well if you choose to be a hardass.” Okay. Maybe not that far. “No offense.”

"None taken, I understand this must be difficult. To feel like you've failed in a responsibility that someone asked of you... I do hope you're not beating yourself up over it. But I assure you, there's no reason to use threats, I place the safety of my patients above all else. As far as information, we had a fairly normal session yesterday, I know she has... something of a distaste for me, but there was nothing specific about our last session that I could point to as 'setting her off'."

“I see, I see. It’s a little unusual to pay money to talk to someone you dislike.” She’s useless. Whatever she knows, I’m not going to find it like this. That’s as aggressive as I can get without going completely apeshit. Unless… it’s something that is only bad for Grace. I guess the police already fucking think I’m related to this, not like I can tank Dana Craig’s reputation with it. “Did Grace have any connections to organized crime?” I ask this normal question.

Carolyn tilts her head in confusion "That's... an odd question. I don't have any reason to believe she was, but I can't give a definitive answer. Even with the promise of confidentiality, not every patient will fully open up about their life."

Obviously no human alive would have an informative answer to that. But I guess I thought I might catch you off guard and sense an unnatural reaction? It was a pretty last-ditch effort. “Okay. Thank you for all your help, really. I’m sorry for being so aggressive in pursuit of this. I need to get a little avant-garde to deal with all the nonsense that comes my way.”

5:15 PM

I get up to leave. “Surely this is all some convoluted misunderstanding. But if it’s not, and you know who is targeting everyone in a vicinity of me, who turned a convenience store into a ghost town… you don’t need to tell me. Just tell them that they won’t be able to kill me. So they’d better not try.” I wave without looking back.

As Dana got up to leave, Grace just entered the room. Spotting Dana, her expression clearly grew extremely sour. She turned to Carolyn. "Can’t you follow simple instructions!?"

“What the fuck?”

Carolyn sighs "I... apologize. Ms. Craig here came to see me, I wasn't even aware of her, let alone your connection, until a few minutes ago. I didn't want to just tell her to leave, I hope you understand."

I hold my head. “Fucking christ. I jumped to conclusions, I’ll own up to that. But don’t—do you not put the slightest consideration to what perspective others have?! You tell me some cryptic warning and then disappear with no notice or contact, does that not set off every alarm bell for like, a fuckin murder mystery?” I sigh. “I’m not even supposed to be here! I don’t know what you people have going on, and I’m not going to be called responsible for making it worse.”

"Then get out, Dana! I didn’t ask for your help, and I don’t want it! Don’t you dare fucking lecture me!" Grace clutched her head.

“You literally did! You interrupted my life and asked me to help you! That, to the letter, is the sequence of events that happened, you dense, overemotional jackass!” I raise my hands to the air. “I’m so sorry for extending the bare minimum of effort in keeping another person safe, for playing the role of a friend for one fucking morning, but I’m not being given a thousand dollars an hour to learn how to translate your stoned-ass non-committal mumbling into english!”

"It's good that you two are open about sharing these emotions with one another, but I do recommend trying to tone down on the insults. If you want to patch things up, it's best done in a more civil manner. I think it would be good for both of you to not damage a friendship over this. I certainly understand if you don't think you can be calm enough to address this at the moment, though."

“I hope you’re getting some advice a little better than this.” I point cockily to accentuate my funny quip, as the man in the accompanying image.

5:40 PM

“This is the way of the world, Grace! Going closer into the life of another means they’ll do the same to you! Telling someone a secret tacitly accepts the risk of betrayal! You don’t have the ability to escape these consequences. Grow up!”

"Ugh! Fuck off then! If you’re just going to insult me for trusting you, I’m just not going to trust you! What the hell else did you think I’d say!?"

“Ah, what a terrible loss. Who will squat in my house now? I’m not desperate for emotional connection. You don’t see me doing this kind of shit. If I wanted to abuse your trust, I would have forced the issue of the event I need to know about, but I sat my ass down and did you a favor. You can’t make me feel guilt or something by saying you’re not doing that again.”

Carolyn motions towards the door "Ms. Craig, I think it would be best if you left. I understand you feel hurt, but this isn't productive for the healing of either of you. I'm sorry I can't offer more to help you work through this, but I must prioritize my patient."

“Sure, that’s fine. Far be it from me to dwell on things.” I’ll leave. ((when the character motivations conflict with what the player wants to see!))

5:53 PM

WOMEN.

Grace just glared at Dana as she left.

6:00 PM

((Channel split.)) (edited)

Carolyn and Grace are in the office. (edited)

"I apologize for not asking her to leave sooner, I was hoping the situation would not escalate so much. Are you ready for our session? It seems like we'll have quite a bit to talk about."

She sat down. "Just get this over with."

Carolyn sits across from her "Of course. I didn't inquire, but Ms. Craig did let me know a bit of what was going on between you two. We don't have to talk about it, but that seems like the best place to start for today."

She placed her face in her hands. "Why does this keep happening to me?"

"...If you need a moment to yourself, there's no rush. Your comfort is important."

"Shut up. Just say what you have to."

"Grace, that's really not how this works. You're not here for me to give a motivational pep talk. This is about you, and we can't make any progress if you're not willing to open up. Like I said, we don't have to talk about Ms. Craig, it can be anything. Whatever's on your mind."

"What’s on my mind is that you’re a delusional bitch who wants to know every facet of my life so you can give vague fortune cookie advice and act like you’ve helped anyone."

"I see. Your frustration is understandable, we haven't made much progress, after all. If there's anything you want to keep to yourself, then I'm not forcing you to tell me. This is an open space for you speak your mind, and I'm glad you aren't afraid to let me know your problems with me."

"How do you think you can help anyone when you talk like a machine?"

"This isn't the place for my personal feelings. Even if I were hurt by your words, it would be irresponsible of me as your therapist to let that affect the quality of my care."

"The quality of your care is 0."

"It's fine for you to feel that way, but even if you don't think it will help, you really don't have anything to lose by indulging me, do you? Surely it would feel at least a little better to vent some of your problems."

"I already do that, and trust me… It’s not fixing anything at all."

"Certainly, discussing your issues isn't a solution in and of itself. And like you said, I'm not here to offer you a concrete plan. I understand not seeing how this can help, I don't blame you, but refusing to let us try will never help, and that you should know for certain."

"If it’s not going to work, then what’s the point? Why do you deserve to know everything about my life? What makes you so special?"

"Grace, I assure you, this isn't about me. You're here because someone needs to help you, that's all I care about. You're the one who deserves happiness, I'm just doing my best to get you there. It's what any therapist would do."

She took a deep breath. "Fine let’s play it your way."

Carolyn smiles "Thank you, I know this isn't easy. Now then, let's start from the top. Whatever's on your mind, whatever's bothering you, or any new developments you think it's important that I know. I'm here to listen."

"I just want to know… What’s the point of being happy? Why do we try so hard to be happy, if all that happens is that happiness crashing to the ground."

"Well, that's the big one, isn't it. I told you my perspective on that yesterday, my goal of holding onto a moment of happiness and never letting go, but my perspective isn't what's important here. Each person lives for a different reason, so we have to find what works for you. Maybe you thinking about it in terms of trying to be happy is unhelpful, most people experience happiness as a result of achieving a goal, rather than making it a goal in and of itself. Tell me Grace, do you have anything you want to accomplish?"

"A goal?" She thought about it. "Not really. My life’s at rock bottom, and it still keeps getting lower. I don’t really have any reason to get a goal."

"Hm, well how about in the past? Did you have any dreams that you let go of? Even if there's nothing you're working towards at the moment, there might still be something you desire, lingering from before."

"I’ve never really thought about my life in terms of goals. I just… Wanted to escape things. That’s all I’ve really ever worked towards." She looked very disgusted suddenly. "Ugh, why am I telling you all this."

"You wanted to escape... I see. It certainly makes sense how one's life might feel aimless if your only concern is a situation you want to be out of, rather than one you want to find yourself in. It is good to recognize when something is unhealthy for you, though. These things you wanted to escape from, are you willing to speak a bit more on that?"

"I plead the 5th, or whatever number it is."

"That's fine. Let's focus on goals, then. Even if you don't have an end goal, there's always something to be working towards. The first step is the most important, after all. Let's try thinking the other way, instead of in terms of the future, let's use the present. Is there anything in your life, right now, that you want to change?" (edited)

"I want to be happy, but I want to stay happy." She closed her eyes. "I know it sounds cheesy, but I just… I want to find who’s causing me this pain, and… I just want to stop them. …I guess."

"..." Carolyn idly taps her notebook for a moment before responding "The way you describe this, like there's a specific person at the root, but someone you don't know. I could be off base here, but considering recent events... are you saying you want to track down Michelle's... well, her killer?"

"…Yeah. But not just her killer… I’m almost sure that this person’s done a lot more to hurt me than just that."

"You think you're being targeted, then? That sounds... rather conspiratorial, but as your therapist, I'm willing to hear out all of your thoughts. Do you have any evidence? That can always be taken to the police to assist in their investigation. That sounds a lot safer for you than trying yourself."

"I don’t have any evidence… I just have a suspect, I guess. But I’m confident."

"And this suspect... what are you hoping to do once you find them?"

She didn’t look Carolyn in the eye. "…I don’t know."

Carolyn takes a deep breath "Well then, that's what we should work on, don't you think? I'm here to help walk you through this. You said you wanted to stop them, so we have to find a measure that can work to achieve that. Tell me, do you have any suspicions on their motive?"

"That would require telling you who they are."

"...I see, you don't trust me with that. That's understandable, I don't blame you. But in that case, there's really not much I can do to help. If this is what you think is in the way of your happiness, then it needs to be addressed, one way or another, before you can heal."

"…Yeah." Carolyn’s phone rang.

"Oh, my apologies. I should have had it off during the session. This is rather unprofessional of me." Carolyn takes out her phone and checks the number.

It’s Gus.

Carolyn clicks her tongue and turns to Grace "Once again, I apologize. You are my primary priority as my patient, but... do you think you could excuse me for a moment?"

"It's not like I want to be here."

Carolyn gives a slight smile "That's a good point." She stands up and exits the room, then answers the call "You've caught me at a bit of a bad time, Gus. Not that I'm complaining, I'm sure you have an important reason for calling."

"Get to your apartment. Now." He hung up.

Carolyn sighs "I suppose asking him to be more polite would be asking a bit too much. He has his reasons for not caring how he comes off to me, so I can't blame him. It is unfortunate, but... I can't risk this." Carolyn steps back into her office "Sorry, but something's come up. We've made a lot of good progress, and I'm sure you're fine with this, so let's stop here for the day."

Grace was on the phone. She moved away from the phone to respond to Carolyn. "Yeah, alright."

Carolyn nods, grabs her purse, and leaves the office to head for the subway station.

Carolyn arrived at the subway station.

She takes a train to the station by her apartment.

The train arrives at the station by her apartment.

Carolyn makes her way to her apartment, keeping an eye out for Gus.

Gus is standing outside her apartment door.

She waves to Gus "Well, I'm here. What exactly did you need me for?"

"Open the door. Let's talk inside."

Carolyn smiles "It was polite of you to wait for me to let you in this time." She opens her apartment door and steps inside.

He stepped in, and sat down at the first available place. He somehow looked worse off emotionally than the last time she'd seen him.

Carolyn closes the door after him "Would you like something to drink?"

"No. You'll want to keep that."

Carolyn gives him a look of confusion "You know, I really was in the middle of something when you called. It's polite to give advanced warning on this kind of thing. I know I'm not exactly in a spot to criticize anyone, but it would help our working relationship if you could be a bit more direct."

"I didn't know until just now." He sighed.

"...Right, sorry, I assumed too much. It must be quite important if it required both of us to come here immediately."

"You could say that." Gus looked scared for a moment. "It's the boss... He wants to meet you." ((Session end))

((Saturday))

"You could say that." Gus looked scared for a moment. "It's the boss... He wants to meet you."

Carolyn smiles "Well that's great. It's good to have a properly handled working relationship between boss and employee. Lack of communication can be quite the hinderance on efficient work, and that would be terrible when we're handling such important matters."

"Shut the hell up." He groaned. "This isn't good news."

"...And why would that be? If you're concerned I might say something wrong, I assure you I'll try to keep the conversation civil and respectful."

He sighed. "...The boss never speaks to any employees. Only 2 of us even know his name. Me and Jeff. The fact he's speaking with you is a bad sign."

"Hm..." Carolyn thinks for a moment "A bad sign for who exactly? I know you don't care about what happens to me, so that can't be what has you so frightened."

"...Heh." He smirked, but it somehow felt more depressing than his usual resigned expression. "I fucked up. Let's leave it at that."

"I see. Well, I'll try my best to make sure you come under no harm, Mr. Amon. You've done so much for me, it wouldn't be right to let you die while in this state."

"Of course. Because everyone knows the ideal way to die is when you're finally experiencing great things." He spoke sarcastically, obviously. "Truth be told, when I die I hope I'm feeling like this. Whatever blaze of glory I decide to go down in, I'll be feeling like this. Aimless. Meaningless. Nothing left to fight for. Whatever's waiting beyond, if anything, will be a lot more bearable if I know I've got nothing left on this earth."

"That's certainly an interesting perspective. You're aware of my thoughts on that, so there's no need to waste time trying to convince you otherwise. Although, you say you have nothing left to fight for... Does that include Ms. Maoziwam?"

He laughs bitterly. "She won't see me now."

"I don't suppose you want to talk about what happened?"

"I sure hope not."

"..." Carolyn walks to the kitchen and pours herself a glass of water "So, about the boss, is there anything I should know about him before we meet? You said he's a bit reclusive, so I'm wondering if I should be a bit more delicate with him than usual."

"Go too soft on him, and he'll ruin your life. But don't talk back either."

"I see. My life isn't particularly important, but any negative effects could bleed into the quality of my work, so I'll try to keep a balance."

"You really know just how to piss me off."

"I assure you, it's not my intention. I'm just trying to keep up conversation while we wait. It never hurts to get to know your coworkers a little better when the opportunity strikes."

He took out his gun and aimed it at Carolyn, before grinning pathetically. "Wanna play a game? It's called 'Next time you try to ruin me by making me happy, I shoot you and the boss kills me in this state.' I like this one better than yours. Wraps a nice bow on all of us."

Carolyn sighs "And this is why I know you're not telling me the truth, Mr. Amon. You say that you have nothing left to live for, that you want to die while you're in this state, and here you are with a gun pointed straight at the person you hate most. Does it sound like someone who truly is speaking how they feel would wait to pull the trigger? I know you're not going to shoot me, because you already would have. You're not ready to die just yet."

He lowered the gun.

"That's better. Threats can certainly help you get what you want, but believability is key. Of course, I'm not mad about this, I know you're feeling a lot of emotions right now. Outbursts are to be expected." Carolyn takes a sip of water.

"You get off on this or something? Acting all high and mighty because I won't shoot you yet? You living off ego now? Proud of yourself for being more emotionally mature than Gus Amon, as tall achievement as it is. I'm sure so many people are jealous of you for spotting that one. Gotta give yourself a good pat on the back."

"It's a therapist's job to remain calm and composed through situations like this. You can interpret my actions however you please, I doubt you coming around to me will be the key to your happiness. Right now I'm just glad I got a proper read on you. It's difficult to help without that understanding."

"What you don't seem to get is that I don't need your help. The only person you're helping is yourself."

"You're certainly correct that I don't seem to be a proper fit for you. If you were my patient, I might recommend you see a different therapist. But as things stand, I know you won't seek out that help, so I'm the only person who can be there for you. What kind of person would I be if I didn't try?"

"A better one." He paused. "Ugh, I'm sounding like Howard again."

"I was being rhetorical, I'm well aware that you don't see my efforts as positive. But I'm not hurt by your choice to reiterate this, everyone should have their voice heard."

"Shut up. Shut up. Just shut up. I can't hear myself think with you around." He looks at his watch. "What the hell is taking him so long? He find it funny to make you torture me or something?"

Carolyn chooses to follow his instructions and not respond. "It doesn't seem like much has changed as far as things go for Gus. That's normal, I didn't expect Lelouch to make efforts to help him so soon... Though I am a bit concerned about what he said regarding her. I'll have to ask her about that when I get the chance. Could Jade have convinced her to not help him after all? I suppose I might have to target her first, if so. This whole affair is quite a bit more complicated than my usual job, but with only one patient, I have the time to deal with it." Carolyn takes a seat at her dining table as she waits.

An unfamiliar girl's voice spoke from behind Carolyn. "Don't react or say anything. He can't hear me."

"...What? I don't have an earpiece in, so what does she mean he can't hear her. I certainly didn't hear anyone enter the house... Could there have been someone here the whole time? Wait, no, there's an easy way to settle if they're right. And if they are, then this must be some kind of wireless communication, which means I'm in no danger." Carolyn looks towards Gus to see if he reacted to the voice at all.

He did not.

4:53 PM

A white cat leaps up onto the dining table. "Hello! I am Ehn! Usually I'd be a lot more fun about this, but I'm in a hurry here. Nod yes if you understand."

"A... talking cat? Wait, didn't James mention something about a talking dog? Am I having a hallucination based on that memory? It's obviously not really here, Gus would show a reaction otherwise, so some kind of delusional state of mind is the only explanation. I hope I don't have to take too much time out of my schedule to be treated for this. I wonder, is it just visual and auditory hallucinations?" Carolyn reaches out to see if she can feel petting the cat.

Her hand goes through. "I said to nod! This is way more obvious!"

5:00 PM

"I've come to offer you a deal. I will grant you a magic ability, and in exchange you'll owe me a favor at some point! Just nod yes if you accept!" Ehn.

"Well, I've clearly still got some sense of reality, which is good. I should really clear this out of my head before the boss gets here, though. It would certainly be distracting for me, at the least. I wonder if I'm just tired? I could make some coffee, but the boss might arrive first. Playing along with the hallucination isn't usually the best strategy, but I suppose there's no harm to seeing if addressing it makes it go away." Carolyn nods.

"Great. Your glasses can now read minds. I don't really have time to let you figure that all out. You have about 15 minutes before people come to kill you two."

Carolyn sighs "Nope, still here. Worth a shot, there's nothing lost by trying all avenues. I am a bit surprised at how childish my imagination is. I've never really been into stories with magic powers like that, so it's strange they'd pop up in my delusions. Could there be some deeper reason for mind reading glasses? Well, I suppose that's obvious. It would vastly improve my performance as a therapist. Just simple wish fulfillment, then?" Carolyn lets out a small laugh and shakes her head "Really, psychoanalyzing myself now? I shouldn't be focusing on this, I need to be ready." Carolyn heads back to her kitchen and begins brewing a pot of coffee.

"I'm serious!" Ehn follows her. "This is all a trap! The 'boss' just sent people to kill you two! I saw them!"

"Well, in a certain way it's commendable how persistent my mind is about this. I hoped to not do this with Gus around, but it's not like him thinking I'm crazy will make him think any worse of me. I'll try addressing it directly." Carolyn turns to Ehn "You can't know anything that I don't know, that's how this works. You're probably just a manifestation of my paranoia about the situation. I will admit I'm a little nervous, but not enough to give into a hallucination's suggestion."

"Who are you talking to?" Gus got up and aimed the gun in the direction of Carolyn.

"It's a bit embarrassing as a mental health professional, but I appear to be showing symptoms of a disorder, too early to say exactly what the cause is, though. I'm hallucinating, and trying to get it to go away. You don't need to worry about it, Gus."

"Ughhhh. You are literally so stupid." Ehn facepalms. "Just look him in the eye." "You're showing symptoms of a mental disorder, what a shocking surprise." Gus.

"Will you go away if I follow along? This meeting is important, as I'm sure you're aware."

"JUST LOOK HIM IN THE EYE!"

Carolyn sighs and turns to look Gus in the eye.

So she's finally snapped, huh? Well, snapped harder than before. She really that scared of the boss, or am I getting played? Gus is thinking these things, and Carolyn is able to comprehend this. It's not quite any of the 5 senses, it's like a 6th special one.

Carolyn is unimpressed "I do indeed hear his thoughts, but really, that's exactly what I'd expect to hear from him. Nothing my mind couldn't think up on its own. I doubt the hallucination will go away from me continuing to act how I was, though. No, I should be looking to definitively prove that this is a delusion." "Say, Gus. Could you do a favor for me? I need you to think of... let's say a number. Just any random number. Sorry to bother you, of course, but it would just really put my mind at ease."

Gus instinctively thinks of the number 9. "You've really lost it." What the hell is she doing? Is this some kind of therapist mind game?

"No, it's no mind game, just..." Carolyn shakes her head "Sorry. Could you tell me the number?"

"No." Better to not play along.

"That's... fine. No need to be exact. Just tell me, was it 9? That's all I need to know, I'll stop pestering you afterward, really."

He looked shocked. "What- What the hell?" Is this some kind of parlour trick? Or does she have that kind of grasp on my mind? That’s alarming.

5:42 PM

"Satisfied?" Ehn.

"That's... Could it just be a coincidence? Well, that's a stupid question, of course it could be. It's certainly not definitive proof, but... No, it couldn't be... Is this my reward for saving so many people? For helping them reach eternal happiness? Was this cat sent to help me save more? It's... Well, it's that or a delusion. I could keep testing, but if this is the universe's way of helping me with my goal... Worst case scenario if I'm hallucinating is the boss arriving at an empty apartment, we'd have to reschedule. Worst case scenario if this cat is real..." Carolyn turns to Gus "We need to get out of here, now. You know the boss better than I do, but just from what you've said, sending men to kill us instead of coming himself seems to fit perfectly with his mindset. I'll be leaving with, or without you."

"No. You’re clearly going insane, so sit the hell down and shut up before you ruin everything." Gus. I knew it, she’s scared of the boss. Finally managed to crack her. "Oh, I didn’t give you those glasses to let him live." Ehn smiled.

Carolyn gives Ehn a look of concern "But... If he dies here, he'll remain unhappy forever! It's true that leaving without him is better than both of us dying, but... Why would you give me this power if not to save people like him? This is my reward for being the one remaining follower of Edlightenism, right? It's the only explanation that makes sense."

Gus held the gun up to her head. "That’s exactly why you have the glasses, to make sure he’s happy before he dies. Honestly, with his dumb stunt last night he’s out of safety nets. Running away won’t buy him too long. The only one who can make sure he dies happy is you." Ehn checked a metaphorical watch. "That’s 15 minutes on the clock, better get to it."

6:04 PM

((I’ve been waiting for this one a long time. HOPE the setup has been adequate, making you care about Gus was really difficult to plan out))

"I... understand. I'm sorry for jumping to conclusions, and I'm sorry for doubting you. Thank you. " Carolyn looks back into Gus's eyes "Alright then, I'll stay here. But I'm not quite done asking questions. You only have to answer the ones you want to, though. Gus, is Lelouch the only person left that you care about, or is there anyone else?"

"I don’t want to answer any of them." Is she really trying to kill me here? This is weirdly desperate. Whatever her plan is, I can’t just play along. If I let her stay in my head too long, she really could break me. I can’t die here. I have to make it up to her first. I can’t die here.

"Gus, this is your last chance. If you want to make it up to her, it has to be now."

He freezes in shock. What the hell? Is my expression that obvious? No, she must be thinking of Lelouch. If I play it safe and back that idea up, I should be able to deflect enough. "I’ve got nothing I could make up for. I fucked it up too bad last night. You really think I’m holding on for some magical opportunity to help Lelouch?" He spoke relatively confidently.

Carolyn shakes her head "You're a bad liar, Gus. You should know better than to try that with a trained therapist. You and I both know Lelouch isn't the person on your mind. So tell me, are you willing to die without making it up to her?"

His confidence wavers. "Alright, then who the hell is on my mind? I'm not exactly the type girls flock to." That was a terrible idea, what the hell am I doing? This is such a pathetic attempt. Why am I falling apart in front of this piece of shit? Is this really how far I've fallen?

"I'm the one asking the questions, Gus. I don't have much time, so don't pretend like you have any control left. After all, I'm here to help you. If you want to make it up to her, you'll stop being difficult."

Damn it. "…"

"This is further than I've gotten before, but he's not exactly being helpful... A name, an event, anything and I might be able to figure out what I need to tell him... I need to get his mind back on track. But if I say the wrong thing, he'll know I'm making it up as I go. I'll have to be general." "I said I'm in a hurry, but that's no point to not reminisce. Tell me, did you always feel this way about her?"

That doesn’t even make sense as a question. She’s got no idea what she’s talking about. She’s just doing her best to get under my skin. I’m doing fine. I’m doing fine. He took a deep breath. "Just a friend from work. Nothing to do with my life, so don’t get confused." What the hell does that mean? What am I doing? That’s completely unrelated to the question, you fucking moron. Am I really such a pathetic person? I’m completely botching this right in front of her.

"Well, there goes that plan. He can tell I'm bluffing... But he's still quite worked up, so I'm definitely in the right ballpark. What can I go after, though? He said he was botching it, so he must have slipped up somewhere. Maybe his response was honest? It would make sense if he just blurted it out." "A friend from work, huh? You don't exactly seem the type to have many people you consider friends. Especially in such a dangerous line of work. So what's so special about her that you'd be thinking of her even now?" (edited)

"I’m not. I just told you. I’ve got nothing on my mind." Okay, that’s a little better. Nothing for her to pull apart here, and she’s somehow fallen for the dumbest mislead yet. The boss will be here any second now. I can make it through this.

"Okay, that one's on me. But... He's right, he's not giving me anything. Am I missing something? Let's backtrack... If his response wasn't honest, then what was he botching? I suppose just giving an unrelated answer? But why would he care so much about that... As long as it's something I can't use to analyze him, it should be fine. Whatever, I'm running out of time. If he won't tell me who's on his mind, I just have to run through the options... but who else could it be? Other than Lelouch, the only woman he's talked about is..." Carolyn takes a step back, with a look of surprise "So that's how it is. That's how I can make you happy, right here and now. Never would've guessed it on my own, if I'm being honest."

What the hell is she scheming? Is she psyching me out so I’ll say it? "Don’t be so overconfident." Gus looks nervous.

"Yes, it all fits together when I look at it that way. That's why you wouldn't shoot me... It wasn't out of fear of what would happen to you, was it? No... it's because you haven't made it up to me yet."

For some reason, he almost seemed to cry. "You really are quite the narcissist. No, that’s incorrect." Because the Carolyn Blythe I failed died 9 years ago. You’re just the shell of her corpse haunting me now.

7:27 PM

((Funny fact: What is the age of Lelouch Maoziwam and what is the age of Carolyn Blythe 9 years ago?))

"So that's it then... He's sad over failing me? Obviously, he's confused. I've taken the best possible path I could have. I took my father's ideology and have used it to save as many people as possible, there's nothing to feel sad about. But... From his perspective, someone who doesn't understand that... Yes, I must have seemed to turn into quite the monster. Does he wish I had turned out differently? If that's the case, all I have to do is let him 'save' me now." "...Mr. Amon. We both might die soon, so I have to ask you something. Do you think I can make up for what I've done? All these people I've killed... What if I was wrong? You've seen a lot of death... Is there any salvation for someone like me?"

((Roll))

((1))

Tears began to gently drip down his cheeks. "Don’t kid yourself into thinking you can fool me either. We both know I’ve fucked you up beyond repair. I’m no better than your actual father." He held big gun by the front end, and held out the grip towards her. "If you aren’t lying, and you really wanna make up for it… Do us all a favour and kill yourself." (edited)

Carolyn takes the gun and, after a moment, smiles softly "...We both know I can't do that. I only kill people who are happy." Carolyn places the gun on the ground "Without your help, I couldn't have saved so many people, so it would be unfair if I didn't make that up to you. I just couldn't live with myself knowing you died like this. So, Gus, I want you to believe me when I tell you that I value your happiness the most, and if what you want is for me to die... Then there's another way I can do that, a less messy one. I renounce my desire to kill, I'll live as a normal, honest therapist."

"You're really running out of time here." Ehn. "Fuck. You." He raised his fist to strike her. Why can't I do this...? Am I really so pathetic I can't even do anything to her? This awful psychopathic murderous piece of shit... And I can't do a thing to her? Even now, even when she taunts me... She has to keep wearing that fucking face. GOD FUCKING DAMN IT! He fell to his knees and clutched at this head.

"..." Carolyn sighs "Alright, enough with the act. You're right, I'm not going to change. What you see now is what I'm determined to stay as. But... I'm still Carolyn. I know it's hard to hear, but I'm still that girl. I might have not turned out how you hoped... but Mr. Amon... I really am happy you were a part of my life, and no one can blame you for what happened to me. You tried your best, and if any part of you can believe that any part of that girl from 9 years ago is still in here... I want you to know she's grateful, for everything." Carolyn kneels down and gives Gus a hug.

He just wept, leaving no words or thoughts beyond that. After a moment, he hugged her back.

8:09 PM

"Thanks, Carolyn. I'd assume you don't hear that often." He broke the hug, and wrapped his hands around the gun.

Carolyn stands up "No, I really don't. It... feels good." She turns to the exit "I'll be leaving now... Goodbye, Mr. Amon. I'm glad we got to spend this time together." She begins to make her way out of the apartment.

"Wait. One last thing."

She stops, and turns back "Of course. Please, I'm listening."

"You know, until today, I thought I couldn't do a thing hurt you. The body you've possessed is of the one person I've failed more than any other. At best, I had a few childish mindgames up my sleeve. But no matter what, there was nothing I could really do. Nothing permanent. I knew you'd get me eventually. You're real insidious like that. I was just... Stalling 'til that day, really. I'd wanted to do anything to stop you, even considered ruining anything and killing you on the spot. ..But I can't. It's like with everything I do, just preserving the torture a little longer. Hopin' maybe it'll all fix itself out. Maybe I'd even hoped you'd fix yourself somehow. Somehow, you'd realize what kind of person you'd become and just... Undo it. But no, just like me... You're trapped that way. We're trapped in the past. In that same incident. So I really had to thank you. For showing me there really was no way to help you. To fix you. To let you improve. If I can't be your hero... Hell, if I can't be your father... Maybe I can be something different. The different you need." It's like Howard said... "Hey, Carolyn? Let's live in eternal misery together." ...But maybe we could all stand to be a little more selfish. He turned the gun towards his head and pulled the trigger. (edited)

"..." Carolyn sighs "So that's my punishment, then? My rash decision all those years ago... This is the final consequence. One more soul that will persist... miserably." Carolyn looks around the room "I suppose on a normal day, I would be worried about the legal ramifications of this... maybe try to clean up. But there's no time for that." Carolyn grabs her purse "I just have to keep on living... I just have to keep on saving people... I can't ever make up for the people that I don't save, but that's no reason to fail anyone else." Carolyn leaves the apartment.

A loud yell of "CAROOOOOLYYYYYYN!" can be heard from the staircase.

8:37 PM

This voice is unfamiliar.

"Who... No, that's not something I have to ask. I've run out of time, it has to be the men sent to kill me and Gus... But why announce their presence like that? It's certainly not professional behavior... No, I can't let that trip me up, if I'm not cautious here, I'll never be able to save anyone else." Carolyn makes a break for the elevator and calls it to her floor.

The elevator opens up, revealing an empty space.

Carolyn gets inside and pushes the button for the first floor.

The last sound to fill the elevator was the stranger's scream. As the doors closed, the man's desperate shouts were silenced, and Carolyn descended down the elevator shaft. She had escaped. ((End session))

((Pain.))

((Saturday))

The elevator descends.

"Today's events were certainly unexpected, but I can work with them. Gus is an unfortunate sacrifice, but not having to focus on saving him anymore does mean I can extend Lelouch and Jade's happiness before anything happens to them. I don't like trading happiness, but the choice was made for me here. More immediately pressing, though, is what I do right now. Obviously, I should get as far away from here as possible, they definitely won't give up pursuit just because I'm not in my apartment. But even beyond anyone sent to kill me... There's a corpse in my apartment. If the police find that, I'll surely become a suspect. My fingerprints being on the murder weapon is inconvenient, but I can just explain it as a gun that I owned for self-defense, that he used for a suicide. That is the truth, after all. And taking it from the crime scene would be much more suspicious, as it would prove either that the death was a murder, or that there was tampering with the crime scene. I handled this about the best I could, given the circumstances." Carolyn waits for the elevator to reach the first floor.

The elevator arrived in the lobby.

"I should probably book a hotel room for the night. I don't exactly have anyone who'd be willing to let me stay the night at their home. Other than Lelouch, I suppose, but staying in this building isn't a good idea." Carolyn exits the building and heads for the nearest subway station.

Carolyn arrived at the subway station.

"...Wait, I'm forgetting something. Surely my apartment building had cameras, right? I didn't look for them, but if they did, they'd know I entered the room with Gus, and came out without him. That doesn't guarantee he killed himself while I was with him, but if people heard the gunshot and report the time... It would be suspicious if I didn't report this. I can say it took me a few minutes to clear my head, due to distress, that's believable." Carolyn dials 911 and gets on the next train, trying to just get away from her apartment.

"This is is 911. What’s your emergency?"

Carolyn tries to sound shaken up while talking "Y-yes, hello. There was just a... A man committed suicide in my apartment. He... he took one of my guns and..."

"What's the address?"

"Right, sorry, it's [the address and apartment number]. I'm not... there right now. I couldn't bear to look at it and I... I just remembered to call it in."

((What the fuck is your status))

3:14 PM

"And your name is?"

"It's Carolyn. Carolyn Blythe."

"Alright, units are on their way."

"Thank you." Carolyn hangs up, and puts her phone away. "I shouldn't let them get too much out of me. I need to think of a story for why Gus would be there in the first place. I don't want to say anything that might be contradicted by whatever I end up going with."

The subway arrived at another station.

"Alright... Now I just need to find a hotel and... Wait, no, that's not right. I've got the whole day left to find a place to stay, and the police will probably want to call me in for questioning soon..." Carolyn touches her glasses "I've been given a gift... A power to help people. Grace will continue to come to our regular sessions, I'm sure I'll have the chance to learn her thoughts. And Lelouch... It would be better if I waited until I can approach my apartment again. Wait, no, I'm still on the wrong track, I'm getting ahead of myself. These powers didn't let me save Gus just by having them... I have to learn to use them better. Gus's thoughts were vague, it took me too long to realize what he was after. I need to practice before trying to save anyone else." Carolyn gets off the subway and exits the station, then looks around for anyone who doesn't look pre-occupied to talk to.

Carolyn comes across this person. ((Opening up piccrew and designing someone entirely new for this was perhaps a terrible idea))

Carolyn approaches them and looks into their eyes "Hello there, could I bother you for a moment of your time?"

Curiosity. Annoyance. "Yes?"

"Ah, my apologies, I shouldn't be rude. My name is Carolyn Blythe, it's a pleasure to meet you." Carolyn holds out her hand for a handshake.

Carolyn Blythe. She shook the hand.

"Out of curiosity, do you have anywhere you need to be soon? Sorry, I just don't want to be any trouble if you're busy."

Curiosity. Street marketing? Recruitment? "I can make a bit of time."

"Well then, what should I test out first? My problem with Gus was gathering information from him, so I suppose a bit of practice in getting to know this person should be helpful." "Forgive me if it's a bit forward to ask, but are you employed at the moment?"

No. Private. Embarassed. "Yes, of course."

"...I see. You wouldn't mind telling me your line of work, then, would you?"

Embarrassment. Lying. "I'm a doctor."

"I understand, I'm just some stranger you met on the street, you don't trust me with private information. But it's for exactly that reason you shouldn't be embarrassed. We'll likely never see each other again, being honest with me can't result in any negative consequences."

Suspicion. "Why do you need to know?"

"...Need? Well, I suppose I don't need to know anything. But don't you find conversation more pleasant without the need for mind games? I know you're curious about me. Why would I stop a stranger just to seemingly waste their time with questions? But I'm equally curious about you. For instance, would you consider yourself satisfied with your life? I can't imagine one who lies about their job would."

Embarassment. "I'm doing just fine."

"Yes, this was the same problem I ran into with Gus. Just pushing the same subject isn't getting me anywhere. Perhaps... mind reading isn't so different from therapy. I'll try letting the thoughts flow naturally. Maybe get them to lower their guard, ask some lower stakes questions, make small talk." Carolyn gives a slight shake of her head "In that case, I'll stop pushing the issue." Carolyn looks around for a moment before returning her gaze onto this person "It's a nice city isn't it? Have you lived here your whole life, or are you from somewhere else?"

Local. "I'm a local."

5:23 PM

Carolyn's phone rang.

"Always good to meet another local. This city really has such a rich culture. Excuse me for a moment." Carolyn checks to see who's calling.

It's a new number.

"...Could just be a wrong number, but with how high stakes recent events have been, I shouldn't risk losing out on any information. I can just find someone else to practice mind reading on later." "It's been a pleasure talking with you, take care, and good luck." Carolyn begins walking away and then answers the call "Hello? Who is this?"

It's Grobber Brentwood.

Grace's voice spoke. "I know this is going to sound ridiculous but... I need your help."

"...What do you need help with?"

"I need you to break into the police station." ((Session end))

((Saturday))

"I need you to break into the police station."

"Huh? Like. Like a crime?"

"Uh. Yeah. Don't pretend you're above this."

"...I'm not like. Really a criminal, though. I. Do you just need to break a window or something?"

"I need a file. Like, for an investigation."

"Is it yours?"

"What? How would it be mine?"

"I just- the only time I feel like I would need someone to break into a police station is if they had something on me. What- what are you investigating?"

"I- I'll explain when I get to your house. The call was a bit of a dumb idea, I guess. Was just going to let you plan it all out first or something,"

"Oh-okay. Let's do it. H-hell yeah."

"Just give me a second." She hung up.

He takes another hit from his regular bong.

2:59 PM

Actually, several.

He sure is getting high. ((I'm not sure if this is a way to pass the time until she arrives or if you're doing some other absurdity))

If she doesnt get here in like. 10 minutes he would call her again.

She picks up. "Yeah?"

"When are you getting here?"

"I'm on my way. I was in Avengard."

"Okay. See you soon." He hangs up.

If The Fungus does nothing more she arrives in about half an hour.

He'll look around but not do anything interesting.

Knock, knock "It's me." Grace.

He opens it and checks to make sure nobody else is outside.

It's just her. "Let's get to work, right?"

He lets her in. "Yeah, yeah."

3:46 PM

"Is it a police station... in Shelk?"

"Maybe? I guess the incident took place here."

"...So you're looking for a specific file? An incident, or a person?"

"Incident. Do you remember... When I told you about Michelle?"

"Yeah. I remember." He gives her a more serious look.

"I think... I know who did it. And I'm sure they're responsible for a lot more."

"WHAT the FUCK!?" "I've been stewing here in my low-stakes Joker arc for like three days, and you've just had an ACTUAL MURDER on the backburner?"

"I was being unmotivated! This isn't the first time my life has been ruined for no discernible reason! I just... I gave up!"

"Okay, well. Let's do something! Anything! Nothing is the worst thing you can do! When you do nothing, you're unlikely to stop doing nothing for years!" (edited)

"Stop lecturing me! I just got out of a visit with that psycho. I don't need your narcissism here too."

Grobber sighs and shakes his head, leading Grace to his computer. He boots up his VPN to mask his signal and searches up "Shelk police station floor plans"

There is no police station inside Shelk.

4:30 PM

This is not a fact you knew before now.

He looks back to Grace. "Looks like we wont have to worry about not knowing it's the one." He looks for the nearest one on map applications.

There's a big one nearby in Avengard.

He nods to Grace. "That's our target." He looks for the floor plan and points at rooms that look like they have a bunch of stuff, and pulls up the police station on google streetview.

4:48 PM

"They probably have a case file room or at the very least a case filing system. We'll have to find it."

"Alright, good luck."

"Are you not coming?"

"...Would I be useful?"

"Why do you think I would be useful?"

"You turned invisible or something the other day, didn't you? Just like... Pull whatever that magic trick was. I don't... Really have any other friends." (edited)

"You? You setting me up? I'm gonna end up at the police station with a bunch of other suckers, and we're all gonna fall for some kinda- some kinda-" "..." "Fuck it, I'll go. Nothing could get much worse." He looks online at the police station schedule and checks when they close.

The police station does not ever close.

"...Shit." He ambles to the table and takes some psychedelics. He shakes his head up and down. "Y-YEAH!" He nods at Grace. "L-let's do it. I'm going. I'm going." He steps outside and pays for an uber to go to Avengard.

After a moment, the uber arrived.

He looks at the uber. Walks up and yells "ILL BE RIGHT BACK!" and goes and gets a knife and the costume he used for the video in a backpack, before jumping out and getting in the uber.

"..." The uber driver drove to Avengard. (edited)

He looks at the uber driver and nods. When they arrive, he nods and gets out onto the street.

It's a normal street.

He tries to find a store with a bathroom near the entrance, without a camera.

((Roll))

It takes hours to find one that matches these conditions.

This is AWESOME!!!

5:30 PM

On the way he'll buy some sunglasses and a face mask, and once he reaches the bathroom, he'll put them all on, and leave.

Grobber's card declines.

Ok, now this is epic.

5:32 PM

"Ugh... ugh. Hm." He'll put the stuff back on the table and he'll run out of the store.

5:34 PM

He does a tucker reaction.

5:34 PM

Okay he'll try and find a Subway.

Subways are easy to find, sure. There's a lot of those.

He'll look in the trash for a sandwich wrapper.

It's very filthy, but it is there.

The Fungus is on a mission. He'll fold it into a triangle and wear it around his face like a bandana.

5:40 PM

5:43 PM

Then he'll travel to the police station, intentionally going through poor streets to find homeless people.

What does he do when he meets them?

He'll go up to them and be ask "Have you heard of the Fungus?"

((Roll))

16 of them have heard of the fungus.

That is epic. He'll start Proselytizing. "The Fungus is alive, and he is spreading! He's come to liberate us! Liberate the weak, liberate the hurt! All we have to do is show our devotion! Let's all fuck with the police station!"

((Roll))

16 again

They cheer.

"WOOOO!!!! YEAH!!!!!" He leads them all to the police station, starting chants as they parade through homeless neighborhoods.

5:48 PM

"FUN-GUS! FUN-GUS! FUN-GUS!"

5:49 PM

(BCS All)

5:50 PM

https://images-ext-1.discordapp.net/external/V9sVOIS5gfsrvyCA4xpsGUPaLcc3BZISgCcYbkips10/https/media.tenor.com/OGrkhEmuPXAAAAPo/better-call-saul-saul.mp4

He continues marching and chanting, attempting to rile people up, until he gets to the police station.

The fungus and his crowd of homeless people arrive at the police station.

For the rooms that he pointed to earlier, are there any that are accessible from the exterior, and are those windows unbarred?

((What rooms are those?))

large rooms that look like they could be used to store stuff

There’s only 1 large enough room that also has a window. Aside from the big room where all the desks are.

Awesome. He looks inside it. What's it used for?

It's the break room.

Shit. Well, time for plan B.

He bashes against the break room window. He yells "IF WE GET IN, THEY CAN'T STOP ALL OF US!"

((Roll))

The window doesn’t break.

He tries the butt of his knife, if that doesn't work, he'll go to a nearby trash can and try and find something rigid.

((Roll))

It breaks open. The homeless people storm in.

"FUN-GUS! FUN-GUS! FUN-GUS! FUN-GUS!" He quickly storms in with them, yelling. "RAID AND PILLAGE FOR ALL THEY'VE GOT! TAKE BACK WHAT THEY'VE STOLEN!"

6:53 PM

He walks around briskly, trying to find any sort of case filing room or anything like that.

((Roll))

After a lot of shoving around between homeless people and detectives, Grobber makes it to the filing room.

This is epic. He looks for files regarding any of the following terms: 'The Fungus' 'Belto Shelk' The Michelle person Grace knew 'Carolyn Blythe' 'Jeff Johnner' And the attacks on Subway. He also simply grabs around a dozen other random files to throw off the trail.

((Roll))

The file on Michelle has a section on Jeff Johnner.

7:07 PM

That’s the only one he finds.

Fine enough. He shoves as many as he can reasonably fit into his backpack including the entire block of cases around the Michelle one. He then leaves out the window, and runs as fast as he can out the window, and out the way he came, heading to the place where he changed.

The second he leaves the file room, a gunshot rings out. Everything seems to go silent and everyone in the building freezes. A woman finally breaks the silence. "All of you! Out! This is a place of law! A place of order! Do you pathetic petty criminals of the street truly have no better to do? What’s the matter with all of you!? Are you addicted to prison life? Because that’s where all of you are going if you don’t turn back and and cease defiling this place of healing! If I ever see any of your goddamn mugs again I will chart you a trip straight to the hole for the rest of your pathetic short rat-chewed lives! Is that understood!?" The woman stood up on her desk. Grobber can see that a heavily armed team is waiting just outside the busted window, but everyone else is looking elsewhere.

This has become awkward. Is there a bathroom nearby?

There is a bathroom.

Could he enter it without arousing too much suspicion?

No one is looking this way.

He darts into the bathroom, quietly moving the door to not produce too much noise.

((Roll))

7:23 PM

People notice the Fungus entering but they don’t really care.

LFG!!!!

7:26 PM

Okay

7:27 PM

When he enters the bathroom, is there a window out? Are there stalls? What's the deal?

There are stalls. No windows.

Ok. This is awkward. Are there ceiling tiles, vents, etc. around?

There are both of these things.

How big is the vent?

It's not the best squeeze, but Grobber can probably make it through.

Awesome. Excellent plan.

7:46 PM

He'll open up both the vent and a ceiling tile, then go to a nearby stall, where he'll completely undress, get back into his normal clothes, and put his costume back in the backpack, where he'll wait.

How long is he waiting?

He'll wait around 30 to 45 minutes before nervously leaving the room.

Things have mostly calmed down by now but they're still on alert. As soon as he exits the bathroom, he's stopped by the detective from earlier. "Who are you?"

"I-I'm Grobber Brentwood. I was here as a visitor- I-I... I was here to ask about my neighbor, something- I I was just getting annoyed... and-and then a bunch of hobos and crack whores started barging in. I panicked..." he looks around. "Are they all gone?"

"Yes. You said your name was Grobber Brentwood?" She took out a notepad and wrote it down, among a few other names. "Did you recognize any of them?"

"No- erm. I'm not from around here... I'm from Shelk. D-d-does this kind of thing happen often in Avengard?"

"Lately, yes. Some criminal's been riling up the homeless to riot. But don't worry, we'll find him. We always do. We're cops for a reason." She closed the notepad. "Have a good day Mr. Brentwood, we'll call you if we need you."

Grobber nods his head at the detective and scratches his head. "Okay, good luck." He leaves through the front entrance.

8:09 PM

He walks a few blocks away and calls an Uber back home.

The uber arrived to pick him up.

He gets in, a scowl across his face. "Too easy... too simple... it could've... it could've been different. Could've taken the harder way... the better way."

8:12 PM

"...Shelk, please." He gives a location near his place.

The uber drives there. "..."

He walks out and goes home. He opens the door. "Grace?"

She's still there. "That was... Fast."

"...Like I said. Nothing to do. You see what happened?"

"No?"

"Well, you can google it later. The police station, it had a... it... erm..."

8:26 PM

He goes into his backpack and retrieves the file on Michelle. He opens it up on the table and beckons Grace over to read it.

She came over, and began looking over it.

He reads it as well.

Michelle was killed by a shot to the head while she was laying unconscious in her room. Her house did not have a strong security system, so any culprit could have feasibly gotten in without too much trouble. A red car was spotted around the time of the murder but has not been identified. At almost the exact same time, her coworker Dana Craig was shot and grievously injured at her work place. The assailant was a big time mafia officer named Marco Gould, who proceeded to suspiciously commit suicide afterwards. As a result, the lead detective on this investigation, Howard Scott, has noted potential mafia connections connecting both incidents. Michelle also has a history of constantly getting accused of grand larceny, despite getting found not guilty every time.

8:44 PM

((End session))

((Saturday))

"What?" Grace.

He shakes his head. "You kn-know this Dana Craig person, right? You've mentioned her before to me..."

"Yeah, but… You don’t want to meet her."

Grobber cocks his head. "Then what next?" He continues looking through the file. Didn't it have a section on Jeff Johnner?

Jeff Johnner is a subsection under 'prime suspects'.

He nods to himself. (edited)

2:12 PM

"You said you wanted to, ehm... confirm your suspicions. Does all of this, like... does it make sense? Is it what you were looking for?"

"No, it’s… He’s not there. The police weren’t onto him."

He stands silently. "Well then, er.... is that... all?" (edited)

She sat back in her chair. "I… I dunno… I kind of expected there to be clear proof I could just… Shove in his stupid fucking face and be free."

"Y-yeah, well... erm-" He sits back. "...Why don't you just pretend there was proof anyway, if you're so sure?"

"What am I supposed to use, then? There’s not really anything in here."

"Couldn't you, just, like, doctor one up? We already have the original, we can edit it, then put the heat on this guy."

"I dunno, it’s… It’s not the same."

Grobber purses his lips.

2:37 PM

"Well, I'm sorry you, uh, didn't get what you wanted out of this heist."

2:37 PM

"I thought it was kinda fun, maybe? I- I don't know."

"Well, I'm glad you're happy." She groaned. "Well, maybe we could just... Maybe if we look at these suspects, there'll be some kind of connection to him. I mean they're accusing her of grand larceny, they can't be that smart."

Grobber smiles blankly as he looks at the suspect list. Who else is there besides Jeff Johnner?

The Old Man who drove Carolyn that one time is one here. His name has been removed from the file, but his picture is in it. He and Jeff are the only 2 suspects on file.

Grobber wordlessly shows Grace the picture of Kid Named Old Man. "I-I've met both of these guys. Jeff Johnner does some really nasty stuff... but that old man gave me a terrible feeling, too. I-I don't trust either of them."

"Uh... Hm." She crosses her arms, and thinks for a moment.

While she does that, Grobber gets in his bag. He separates the cases into two halves. He takes the half that doesn't have Michelle's case and begins to take pictures of all of them with his phone.

"What are you doing?"

He gives a sly grin back to Grace. "I took a bunch of other files from the police station, to throw them off. Would've been weird if just Michelle's went missing. I'm gonna publish half of what I took, to get one over on those fucking pig cops."

"Oh. That's smart."

He grins as he uploads the half to all the Fungus accounts. "The law enforcement of today's society is crippled, broken. They fail to do their jobs and serve only the elite at the top of the pecking order. Here are some of their scraps. Peer at them, see how they have failed."

3:51 PM

He'll also DM the uploads to local news accounts

((Post it on the twitter thread))

(Should I just say that a bunch of law enforcement case files are attached

4:06 PM

(When I post the tweet)

((Yeah))

The law enforcement of today's society is crippled, broken. They fail to do their jobs and serve only the elite at the top of the pecking order. Here are some of their scraps. Peer at them, see how they have failed.

4:19 PM

Attached to the last tweet are several law enforcement case files

He backs away from his terminal and glances at Grace. "You come up with anything?" (edited)

"...No. Just feels like a dead end."

He sighs. "God-dammit!"

"Well, I'm sorry I'm not magic!"

He looks to Grace. "It's fine, I'm just upset-" He sighs. "Why are you so sure you know who killed Michelle anyway? What makes them any more compelling a suspect then either of these two people?"

"Because she was kind! A pure, innocent soul. She was perfect! No one would ever have any reason to hurt her. He did it to hurt me. That's why it has to be him."

Grobber sighs. "Someone who would do that- well..." He shakes his head...

4:45 PM

"Well, maybe we just have to look into those suspects and him, and try and connect them to each other."

"...Yeah. Good luck."

"That guy that came here with Carolyn that time, er- do you , um... maybe know anything about him?"

"No. No idea."

"...Huh. Okay. Well. I guess, well... huh." He shrugs.

4:54 PM

He sighs and looks at Grace. "I'll. I'll look into it as much as I can. I don't have much else to do."

"Same here."

He nods. "I'll let you know if I get any leads. Also-" he looks back at Grace. "I, er- hope you already figured this, but please don't rat me out to the cops, Grace."

"I think that would screw me over more than it does you."

He nods. "Yeah. Okay bye." He leaves the house.

5:01 PM

As he walks out, he tries to google "Jeff Johnner contact information" on his phone to see if he can find any

No results.

"Well." He bites his lip and nervously looks around himself, before sighing.

5:04 PM

He googles "Carolyn Blythe therapist contact information."

This does come up.

He attempts to find a phone number and call it.

She picks up.

"Uhhh hey. hello?"

"Ah, hello there, it's good to hear from you... if a bit surprising. Have you been doing well since my visit? I hope you considered what we discussed."

"Yeah, um. Actually, heh, it's funny... There was something else I need to, eh... talk to you about."

"I'm always willing to hear out those in need. Although, I must ask, Grace doesn't know you're calling me, does she? She requested that I not contact anyone she knows."

"Yeah, uh. I don't know. I don't think she would be mad if she found out I called you. She kinda knows? I don't- eh."

5:36 PM

"I didn't tell her, if that's what you mean. So, like. If you don't want to start conflict about it, you could just, like. Not bring it up."

"That works fine for me. In that case, please carry on with what you needed from me. I'm not busy at the moment, so I'll try to help as much as I can."

"Okay, uh. Great. I really appreciate it."

5:38 PM

"Do you remember when you came to my house? Uh. There was an uh... old guy? With you?"

5:39 PM

"I need to talk to him."

"...I'm afraid that won't be possible. My friend that accompanied me, has... passed away recently. Terrible matter, but I hope this doesn't present too much of a problem for you."

"..." The line is silent for a couple moments.

5:40 PM

"Uhh... okay... that's. Um. okay."

5:40 PM

"Okay."

5:40 PM

"Could you answer a few questions about him?"

"Of course, what do you need to know?"

"Does he? Or anybody he associates with, drive a red car, maybe?"

"That's a curious question. You're not asking what color he drives in general, but rather you have a specific one already in mind. I assume that means you believe you've seen the car recently?"

"Uh. I don't. Listen, man. It's kind of just a simple question, uh..."

5:44 PM

"I don't understand what that question is trying to get at."

"Is it unreasonable to be curious what could lead to an inquiry about my... former associate? Regardless, yes, he does drive a red car. He was driving it the day I met him, in fact." (edited)

"...Oh. Jeez, wow. Okay."

5:47 PM

"How long... how long have the two of you known each other?"

"...Mr. Brentwood. Like I said, I'm more than willing to answer your questions. But if you're curious about my life, as well as his, then I have to say I'm a bit curious about yours at the moment. I've told you that the man you're asking about is dead, and yet you still want information on him. There's nothing he could provide you in that state, so what is your goal?"

"Uh... I'm gonna level with you. I think that friend of yours is- or, uh. Was, I guess... involved in some. Uh. Shady shit? I guess that, like-"

5:52 PM

"I don't know. Something is going wrong, it feels like."

5:52 PM

"If something went wrong with the way your friend died, there might be some way to... get something out of it? Find some... nugget of good within all the awfulness." He sighs.

5:53 PM

"...I'm trying to piece stuff together. I- I-"

5:53 PM

"I don't really have much else to do, if I'm being honest."

"I see. It's good to occupy your time, but if you think he was involved in some manner of illicit activity, then wouldn't it be smarter to stay ignorant? You said you want to get something good out of his death, but that just isn't possible. I've moved on, and I recommend you do the same. Find something more fulfilling to spend your time on."

He sighs. "I- er." "If you've moved beyond it, then that's fine, but you don't get to dictate what I, er- I find fulfilling, you know? I. Li-listen. I don't know exactly what this guy is involved with, but. Well, if he was, then he- he entered my home and tooled around in there, man. Because you decided I needed a visit. That's. That's on you. You don't get to recommend what- what I do in response to that, man. I get to choose." (edited)

"So that's how it is..." Carolyn pauses for a few moments, before chiming back in with a notably more cheerful voice "Congratulations, Mr. Brentwood. You seemed so lost when we last spoke, but you've truly found something you want to accomplish. Getting in your way would be the last thing I want to do. I assumed this pursuit would be unhealthy, but if it's what you've set your mind on, then I'll stop pushing back. I've known that man for four days, I first spoke with him the day before our visit to your house."

"..."

6:05 PM

"Okay, uh. I feel like you're kind of reading me as some kind of- like."

6:05 PM

"Okay. Just so you know, this has nothing to do with the fact that."

6:06 PM

"Okay, man. Like."

6:06 PM

He struggles to get words out.

6:06 PM

"Nevermind."

6:06 PM

"..."

6:07 PM

"Did he die mysteriously?"

"If you think I'm making a mistake in my treatment of you, feel free to speak your mind. But to answer your question, no, he killed himself in front of me. I've already reported it to the police, so don't worry about that."

"Uh, well. First of all, you're not like. Treating me. We're just like. People, I guess."

6:09 PM

"..."

6:10 PM

"Oh yeah. Uh. Second. I'm sorry about that one."

6:10 PM

"Man."

6:10 PM

"Did he like. Feel as if he was the type of guy to do crimes?"

6:10 PM

"You know brain stuff and you guys were hanging around."

"Certainly. Your assessment of him was entirely correct, he was quite the shady character. It was my hope to reform him to a person capable of being fulfilled rather than one who harms others through such underhanded means."

"Damn. Uh. Cool, then. Cool."

6:14 PM

"...Cool."

6:14 PM

"Well, I guess. Uh. That's a wrap on that one. It's all. Tied up, I guess."

6:14 PM

He sighs

6:15 PM

"...Damn."

"Are you not satisfied with this result? Your suspicion was confirmed correct, that's something to celebrate Mr. Brentwood. Unless there's more left for you to find out before you can be fulfilled?"

"Umm... I guess it's kind of like. The Wily Coyote thing, after he catches the roadrunner."

6:17 PM

"Except it was just like. An incredibly simple mystery. I guess real life crimes are kinda like that."

6:18 PM

"...My life has been pretty boring lately."

6:18 PM

"Mostly."

"A boring life has its benefits. Too much going on creates quite the stressful environment to work in. But I understand your complaint. Have you considered picking up some more hobbies? Learning an instrument, knitting, anything with a consistent feeling of progress. Or perhaps you could do volunteer work, if you'd rather make a difference."

"Yeah, that's the thing, right?"

6:22 PM

"I've been trying to do more stuff recently.

6:22 PM

To like, build something."

6:22 PM

"And it's nice, and I guess. I don't know. I'm not trying to claw my eyes out when I'm doing it."

6:22 PM

"But when I'm doing literally anything else it's back to awful. (edited)

6:23 PM

And, like. As much as I would love to be on my grind my entire life, that kind of, er. Defeats the purpose? I guess?"

6:23 PM

"I don't know. I'm satisfied with it. I think part of it all was just like."

6:24 PM

"I guess I found some meaning in it, and that makes that fact that I don't feel good okay."

6:24 PM

"Even, preferred. I would say."

"That sounds like quite an unhealthy rationalization, Mr. Brentwood. Finding meaning is important, it's what we live our lives for, but if that meaning doesn't bring you happiness... Then I'm afraid it sounds like you've made the wrong choice. From the sounds of it, it's better than doing nothing at all, but you shouldn't be satisfied with just not having negative effects on you. It's a step in the right direction, but you can't move the goalpost so close."

"...You kind of operate off of this assumption that like. Happiness is ontologically good, right?"

6:28 PM

"...What if that's not true?"

"Trust me, Mr. Brentwood, I know what I'm talking about. There's nothing more important than feeling happiness. Those who believe otherwise are just rationalizing their own unhappiness as a lack of a problem. It's behavior I cannot condone."

"Great, so I just have to, what, then. Like. Unrationalize myself? I have to get less rational?"

"It means you have to face the truth. It's hard, I know. But I'm here for you, as I'm sure Grace is as well. You need to find something that makes you happy, that's what your goal should be. It doesn't have to be your primary goal, happiness can result from many things, but if something isn't making you happy, you shouldn't focus on it."

"..."

6:35 PM

He sighs.

6:36 PM

"It is convenient that your outlook on this specific matter of my current health is exactly the same as the ideology of someone with a direct profit incentive to attract a client base for a mental health practice. Always broken. Never fixed enough."

"...You think this is about money? I suppose that's understandable. There's no point denying it, if you've made up your mind to not listen to me because of my profession, then any argument from me would just sound desperate. But I will say you're wrong about one thing. You can be fixed. There will be a point where you can stop. That's where I'm trying to get you to."

"I haven't like- I haven't"

6:41 PM

He sighs again.

6:43 PM

"You say that you care but you make trades of talking to me with stuff from Grace like talking to me, which is apparently how I'm going to get sooo much better, is some sort of trading chip. You bring around this- this criminal nutjob to my house because you wanted to talk to me about Grace, but then-"

6:43 PM

He stops.

6:43 PM

"I just don't get it."

"You certainly have every reason to doubt my intentions. My life has been nothing if not complex over the past few days, and I will admit, I have not always done what would be best for your mental health. But you're not the only person I'm worried about, after all. Grace, the man I was with, they're both people too. I must do my utmost to help whoever I can, and for Grace, that meant delaying my treatment of you. I'm sorry, but it's just pragmatic. Helping you first would mean Grace refusing my help. Life is full of complex choices, but I have no regrets about the ones I've made." (edited)

"Yeah, I get it. Like I completely understand why Grace and you did it, but you get that it's like, really callous, right?"

6:50 PM

"Even in this conversation, man."

6:50 PM

"You're weird... and strange."

6:50 PM

"I'm not. Like, the social expert, here, but like. Come on, you're so clinical, and..." (edited)

6:52 PM

"It feels like. Too good, right? Like you're trying to sell me something. It's like when some guy on the street says that you look handsome... right before he tries to sell you something."

6:53 PM

"I don't really think it's that like. Hard to get me to be happier, right?"

6:54 PM

"Like. I guess therapists are some kinda, like, happiness salespeople? I already do business with a bunch of drug dealers that way more directly sell themselves as that."

6:54 PM

"But the reason why I'm not exactly keen, is like, how Grace hates you?"

6:55 PM

"Like whatever you've done with Grace, she obviously isn't thankful for it. And, uh. I honestly, like don't blame her?"

6:55 PM

"The way that you interact with people is kind of like. Exactly what I imagined when Grace described a crazy therapist who she hated."

"Grace is a work in progress, I'm making strides with her treatment every day. I have nothing to say about your accusations, Mr. Brentwood. I'm not your therapist, but if I was, I'd make the same recommendation as I am right now when I say that seeing someone else would be in your best interest. Thinking of us as happiness salesmen is incorrect, you're the one who has to find happiness, we're just a helping hand. And that includes the decision to start. I have no problem with you criticizing me, sometimes people are just incompatible. But I do hope you don't get turned off from the idea of therapy as a whole."

"I would like. Literally rather end my own life then have to meet a second therapist right now."

7:02 PM

"Meeting people is usually the worst part of people for me. Which is why I do it, like, basically never."

7:02 PM

"And therapists are triple jeopardy or something."

"Well, you have your entire life ahead of you to prepare for the meeting. I understand if these past few days have been too tiring to try immediately, and I certainly wouldn't want another depressive suicide on my hands. I'll be rooting for you to work up the courage."

"Well uh it sounds like. You are trying to get the phone call to end so I get it."

7:05 PM

"I was just like. Joking I would probably not rather kill myself I would probably just, like, pay a bunch of money or something, I don't know."

7:05 PM

"I'm less of the fast, exciting kind of mentally ill and much more of like, the slow burn variety."

7:05 PM

"But I think we are just going to disagree on this sorry."

7:06 PM

"I kind of think that, like. Suffering is just, like, it goes hard."

7:06 PM

"It's what I'm really good at, and the more I lean into it, the better it gets."

"That is... truly unfortunate. If that's what you've set your mind to... perhaps you're just another soul I'm unable to save. I'm sorry I couldn't convince you otherwise, but I'm glad you won't be doing anything rash that you can't take back. If you ever change your mind, my office is always open for new patients."

"Okay. Uh. Well, I'm sorry I can't like. Be an asset for you to boost your happiness high score or whatever. Listen, uh. I'm sorry I freaked out the other day. This may be weird, but I appreciate the fact that you picked up the phone, I uh. I usually only get one meeting with people, and talking with you a second time was refreshing, even if you're a weirdo. There's not a lot of people in my life that. I talk to more than once. Whatever. If I ever do decide to try and, uh... talk with a therapist or something. It will probably be you. Sometimes I change my mind about stuff. I'm a- uh. quirky guy like that, or something. Yeah." "Please don't send Grace away so upset anymore. Seeya." He hangs up.

Grobber will walk back inside to find Grace

It's getting late.

7:18 PM

Grace is still inside.

"Hey, uh..."

7:19 PM

"Apparently, that old guy with Carolyn... he was some sort of criminal. Long list of crimes. And he drove a red car, too."

7:19 PM

"It lines up with a bunch of stuff in the report."

"Huh, really? Did you catch a name?"

"...Shit, no."

7:23 PM

He gets on his phone and texts Carolyn: "Hey, what was the guy's name again? I don't think I asked."

Carolyn responds: "He was called Gus Amon. My apologies, I should have assumed that would be important to inform you of."

"Yeah no problem I should've asked."

7:29 PM

"His name was Gus Amon. He, eh- apparently Carolyn had only known him for four days."

"She knew him...?" She bit her lip.

"...Do you not recognize him? He was the old man with Carolyn when she came to this house."

"No, I did it's just... A weird coincidence."

He raises an eyebrow. "Did you ever see that guy when meeting Carolyn?"

"No, I don't think so."

"Weird. She said he was a friend, but I'm still weirded out. Why did she bring him to my house?"

She thinks about it for a moment. "...I don't think it's him. It's probably a red herring."

He sighs and his brow furrows. "...Then who else? I've seen the car Jeff Johnner drives. It's not even remotely close to the description of the mysterious car found outside Michelle's."

She groaned, laying back. "...I don't know."

Grobber rubs his eyes with the palms of his hands. "Well, at least I got to stick one to the police."

"..."

He looks over at Grace. "Something up?"

"Hey, Grobber... You'll... never leave me, right?"

"Grace, I-"

7:40 PM

"...Without you, I have actually nothing."

7:41 PM

"The two of us are brought together by a lot of things, right?"

7:42 PM

"I don't want you to think that the two of us just are two victims stranded by society, so we're forced to get along."

7:42 PM

"There's a reason you've stayed... even when everybody else hasn't."

7:42 PM

"You're the only one. If you were to be gone... that would just mean I'm impossible. Or not worth it. Or something even worse."

7:45 PM

"I can't leave. I'm right here. I can only stay."

"...Thanks."

He sighs. "Though I'm surprised you asked that question after and not before you asked me to steal classified information from a law enforcement barracks."

"I'm not exactly a genius, I guess."

"You're too smart to be one, with how things are right now."

7:49 PM

He smiles and reaches an arm around her.

She started crying.

"Shhh... shhhh... it's okay... I'm here for you... You're safe here..." He continues holding her.

7:55 PM

"Stop worrying... stop worrying... I'm here for you."

She hugged him. "We're breaking into police stations, investigating a murder, and... And for some reason, the saddest part... Is that I feel happy."

He smiles and holds her by her shoulders, looking into her eyes. "That's because we're taking back what's ours. Our own way. They've tried to make us play the game by their rules for too long. Now, we do it our way."

"...Yeah. Yeah, that makes sense."

8:06 PM

"We'll show them."

8:06 PM

((End session))

Yeah I was trying to come up with something like that but That Works™️

8:07 PM

Wholesome

((No session this week))

((Saturday))

"We'll show them."

"...Yeah."

3:03 PM

"Yeah!"

3:03 PM

Grobber scrambles around on the floor a bit before going to his room. "Can you, uh, help me with something?"

"Sure... What's up?" She wiped the tears from her eyes.

He shambles to a closet. He almost never opens it, but he's trying to find a way to pry it open with all the stuff laying around on the room. He gets it open, and the technology and clothes on the floor want to go down, and it takes a bit of force to keep the door open. "I want to get something in here. Can you hold this for me for a second?"

"Yeah, sure." She holds the door as requested.

He begins to dig in his closet. Stained clothes, weird, half-finished computer projects, and old video games join the other refuse on the floor as he digs through the rubble-looking pile in the closet, looking for something. "I haven't told you about the Rat house- right after I dropped out of college, have I?"

"Rat house?"

"Yeah... after I dropped out, I didn't want to come back here." He takes a breath to look around. He continues to pile things out. "I had a guy I knew online who lived around here. He had an apartment with 8 people that were staying there." "It was the best time of my entire life. There were eight people there who lived there, all we did was play video games, watch movies, do drugs, and fuck each other. We all woke up at 2 pm every day and people were asleep on beds near my monitor setup. We had blackout curtains over all the windows, and the lights had gone out months before I had got there, and nobody had bothered to fix them. We all just wore the same pajamas or underwear, old hoodies from school teams that didn't exist anymore." He continues to move stuff around in the closet. He sits down to dig away at it. "They have this system where they sell excess computing power to corporations, but the real money we made was by hosting a bunch of pirated software. We did it all on the internet from the business next door. With welfare on top of that, we were able to make rent, and pay for fast food delivery." "..." "I didn't want to dig in to what my parents had left yet." "..." "There was one day that we tried to wake one of the girls who had lived there up, because we needed a healer for a raid, but. She was dead. None of us knew why, but none of us were surprised either. The problem is that criminals have no recourse, you know? If we told the cops, we'd have to, you know, explain everything we were doing. As far as we know, she didn't have parents either. Or, at least real parents, I mean..." He loses himself in the story for a moment, leaning back. "So, you know, it was a pain. The seven of us, we took a trip into the forest near here and sweating in the cold air. We dug a big hole with shovels that still had their tags on them and left her alone." "..." "...It's funny, but all I remember of that night is thinking about how far away the stars were." "After that, because I was the new guy, they made me get on her PC to keep her identity... and her subscription services... persisting. As far as all her friends know, she's still on vacation. But then, eventually, things went back to normal, and we got a new healer. It was the same as it was before, except there was a room that nobody ever went in." He goes back into digging, finding a larger desktop unit before dragging it out, placing it on the floor. "A few months after that, I yelled a bunch of shit at the others after an argument relating to Genshin GBJ. They kicked me out. In the night, I took Ophelia's- the girl who died- PC too. She had a good unit, and, like, what were they gonna do, call a cop?" (edited)

3:41 PM

"...You can stop holding the door now. I just wanted to get at this." He points at the PC. (edited)

"That's... Wow." She bit her lip. "I mean... I guess... To some people, they got to live thinking she was alive for a little longer."

"Her friends... I never stopped responding to them, they just stopped asking. I don't know if it was just the people she associated with, but it's easy to make a person disappear, if they just exist... like we did."

3:48 PM

He finds a spot near his desk to plug the computer in, and plugs it into one of his monitors. He begins to update it, cycling it, getting it ready to be operable.

While it's cycling updates/power/etc. he moves back to the half of the case files that he left unpublished. He'll go through them, writing on a notepad people that the case files implicate for doing bad things. Suspects that likely committed crimes, people that the police have on record doing immoral things, etc. Out of the case files he took. He'll keep a log of their names.

There’s a fair amount of cold cases in here where suspects were cleared by an attorney named Naomi Kidink. No other names are particularly interesting here.

That's fine. He's not looking for anything particularly interesting. Just people with something to hide.

4:14 PM

He'll go over to his main desktop with all the Fungus accounts and, for each name, will attempt to find their associated social media accounts. He'll add their accounts next to their names where he's noted them down.

A few of them have social media accounts under their names.

He'll contact every one of them he can find, using the same message. "Hello. I bring good tidings. I represent the Fungus. Today, a legion of the Fungus' followers attacked the police station and pillaged it of its insides. The reason they did so was to find and contact the disenfranchised, the people who had been unjustly hurt by society." "You are one of these people, and you have been selected to take part in our bounty. The Fungus needs operatives, priests, that can extend their will to the physical plane. By doing a few favors for them, they will grant you power beyond your imaginations. You will see firsthand what compelled a legion of the hurt to siege a police station, and you will see firsthand how they won." "The Fungus does not take kindly to being spurned. Should you refuse, evidence of your misdeeds will be spread to your workplace, loved ones, and others around you." He'll attach the respective police file to each message. (edited)

((Roll))

Only a few agree. The rest don’t respond.

He messages the few of them: "Go around town and and spread my message. Write four short messages about The Fungus' impending return, and draw two symbols of fungi in public places such as street signs, walls, etc. Send pictures of these to this account. Please do this in the next twenty four hours."

One replies 'but vandalism is also a crime'.

"Rot always grows away from the sun. If you cannot run, walk. It is permissible if you would only go in public and speak about how the Fungus is coming soon, carrying a sign, even. He understands your apprehension, and is willing to accommodate for his disciples."

"What are you doing?" Grace.

He turns around. "The power to turn invisible and stuff... a few people have caught on to it, and are inspired. I was able to get a bunch of homeless people to help me get into the police station like that. Right now, I'm contacting some others to help me... in case we need anything else done. For your friend."

"Inspired, huh? What’s so inspiring about it?"

He shrugs. "I don't know man, eh- a lot of people spend all day hating the bullshit of the world, so it's easy to root for the person that wants to burn it all down." He sighs. "Of course, a lot of the time it can take some extra convincing, but who cares. Not like anybody holding up 'the good old-fashioned American way' knows what's good for them."

"I guess that’s true." Grace.

5:39 PM

"It just feels weird to drag people into it, I guess."

He shrugs. "Its not like I'm making anybody do anything awful. The people that raided the police station with me were marching and cheering."

5:42 PM

"People have manipulated me and made me do things I dont want to do for bullshit that doesnt matter my entire life. I dont feel bad getting people to help me tear it all down... if they want to protect it, they can get fucked anyway."

"When you finish tearing it down, what’s left?"

"I'm not going to finish tearing it down. It's bigger, smarter, and stronger than I am. It is going to stop me, easily, and I will either be either killed, or, even worse, left alive, but without an outlet for my misery. But it's worth it."

"How is that worth it?"

He shrugs. "It's fun. For now, I guess." He swallows. "It makes getting out of bed easier... and it's nice to be able to get people to break into a police station... in case I ever need it."

"But what about when they catch you!?"

He shakes his head. "Nothing anybody can do to me will make it worse than what my life is. It's like getting banned from League of Legends, like- there's nothing to lose." (edited)

"It’s… I mean… Still. Every time you think your life is at its worst, something worse can always happen. Always."

"I get it, like- I could get put in jail. They could take away the little I do have. But, it's-" "Maybe this is all a mistake. But I need to stop living the same day. Even if it ruins me."

"You don't need to do anything! Did- You talked to that psycho earlier, didn't you!? Did she get into your head? Is she making you do this?"

"Carolyn told me that I was a lost cause and then tried to hang up on me as soon as possible. I, er- I don't think she wants the smoke, man." He sighs. "Grace, I don't know what to tell you. Sticking one to the assholes out there, it's what I want to do. And I thought you wanted that too." (edited)

"I do, I do, it's just... I hate to lose."

He shrugs. "I hate losing... but I was sitting out in the woods recently when I realized that for everybody else, me sitting here, in my room, playing video games, eating whatever I want, without a care in the world... it's winning, and I think I hate winning too. I'm done losing and I'm done winning. I think the only thing that's left is to start trolling."

6:38 PM

(Absolutely disgusting line)

"I can't... I can't do the same. I wish I could throw away my life casually for a bit of fun, but I can't. I just can't. I'm sorry."

He nods. "Let me be clear, I, er, don't intend to be caught soon. I've disguised myself, hidden my identity, and, well, even having other people in on it is just like a- it just largely just serves to distribute this from, like, a person inciting a mob to a self-sustaining movement. I'm gonna be honest, I, er, I don't think anybody is going to catch me soon, and, well, I imagine when they do, it will be incredibly difficult to put me away for a long time. The only thing they could probably do is stop me from doing it anymore." "But maybe they'll put me away forever. Or maybe they'll kill me. Who knows." He shakes his head. "But that's just me... I, er... you can... you don't need to be there."

She sighed. "Without you, I... I don't have anyone."

"Then I won't get caught. Not soon, at least. I am being safe. They have nothing on me. Going into the police station... was more extreme than I expected. Ever. And if I can do that, I can, well... I can do a lot."

"Yeah. I guess that's true." She headed to the door. "It's getting late. I think I'm just gonna... Sleep."

He nods to her. "Thanks Grace, I, er-... Yeah. I appreciate it. I really er, appreciate you, Grace. You're valuable to me."

"Thanks." She left.

He nods.

7:00 PM

"Yeah."

7:01 PM

He walks to the second computer and starts downloading a bunch of AI programs, stuff that can generate text and images from other images/text.

This happens.

Cool. He'll do that for a while before moving to his bedroom. He will get really high on pot.

Grobber is really high now. ((Sorry for the insightful commentary I just have nothing to react with))

fuck, continuity error, he was already in his bedroom. ghrk!

7:15 PM

no problem

7:16 PM

TBH sometimes I'll intentionally take a time consuming action to see if anybody is planned to come to the door at around this time of the session

((SADLY you are in the section of my notes that just reads 'end the chapter'. The funny interactions will have to wait))

(time to go on a completely new adventure that takes 6 hours trollface

7:18 PM

(whatever let me get one last action in.

The Fungus

(time to go on a completely new adventure that takes 6 hours trollface

((For note I would not stop anyone from doing this. You could even describe my reaction as positive))

(Yeah I figure but in character I have no reason to do this right now. My guy has done a lot)

7:22 PM

Thoroughly doorframed, he'll clamber over to his computer and search for several minutes looking for anything related to 'Gus Amon Avengard'

Gus Amon is an ex-police detective, now butler working for Shuichi Maoziwam.

Huh. Grobber will check Shuichi Maoziam's social media pages, looking to see any recent posts/any posts about The Fungus.

Shuichi Maoziwam has not commented on The Fungus.

Yeah, but has he posted anything recently?

https://discord.com/channels/959192904184778753/992859913074253974/1020348913233952800 this is his most recent tweet, from last night.

Grobber will look to see if he has any public contact information.

There's a business email.

Hm. He has a daughter, right? Does she have any public contact information?

((Roll))

She does not.

Hm. He sends an email to Shuichi Maoziwam from his regular address. "Dear Shuichi Maoziwam, Hello. I am Grobber Brentwood, and I'm looking into the recent death of Gus Amon, an employee of yours, and its possible ties to some criminal activities. Would you be willing to describe to me if Gus Amon was behaving strangely or was associated with any unsavory characters over the last year or so?"

7:38 PM

After this, he'll go to bed.

The chapter ends.

It's getting late.

"That conversation could have gone better, but at least he isn't fully opposed to the idea of ever changing his mind, and more exposure to people willing to help can never be bad. For now, I should get back to finding somewhere to stay." Carolyn checks on her phone for the nearest hotel.

There's a bunch of hotels nearby, it's a busy city. It's not hard to find one.

Carolyn heads to whichever seems the most average, not needing a luxury hotel, but trying to avoid anything too cheap for comfort, and books a room for the night.

The room is available.

She goes. To the room.

Carolyn gets a text from Grobber.

She also checks the text yeah.

"Hey, what was the guy's name again? I don't think I asked."

Carolyn sends back "He was called Gus Amon. My apologies, I should have assumed that would be important to inform you of."

"Yeah no problem I should've asked."

((I'm going to assume end of session))

((No session this week))

(( https://twitter.com/HardDriveMag/status/1578852739735748608 )) (edited)

Hard Drive (@HardDriveMag)

Therapist Targets Flashing Red Weak Spot During Breakthrough Session https://t.co/hR5ggndq1o

Likes

1217

Retweets

128

((Saturday))

(( ))

onnie

But I do regularly think really mean things… I don’t say them but god I hope mind readers aren’t real

Jump

Go to message!

Carolyn is in a hotel room late at night.

"If only I had time to bring a change of clothes with me when I left my apartment... No, even if I hadn't been in a hurry, if I had been seen on camera with extra items, it would seem like I planned for this. I have to make sure to stick to my story of being in shock from the suicide and rushing out." Carolyn prepares for sleep as she thinks about her next move. "I suppose for now, all I can do is wait and see if I'm targeted again, while I continue to learn more about this gift. It would seem that my abilities aren't particularly useful for getting specific information out, but that should be fine. Knowing their emotional state for certain should be more than enough to help in my therapy. I've already made some progress with Grace, but this might help me finish the push. It seems like Grobber is fine keeping our discussion a secret, so she should continue to see me." Carolyn gets in the hotel bed "I can't let another one slip through my fingers... People die miserably all the time, but if I continue to fail like I did with Gus... Well, then I wouldn't be of any help at all. This power is the best chance anyone will ever get at increasing the happiness of individuals, I can't let it go to waste." Carolyn goes to sleep.

Carolyn finishes the chapter

I’m Dana Craig.

6:08 PM

Hope those two enjoy each other’s fuckin’ company.

((Nooooooo fucjing way. Dana Craig in real life.)) (edited)

Yeah, see? That’s what I’m saying.

6:10 PM

Today has been a complete failure.

6:10 PM

I didn’t quit my job. And she wasn’t even dead.

6:11 PM

Annoying.

6:12 PM

There must be something else to do. I could ask a random homeless person about The Fungus? But even if that wasn’t the dumbest fucking idea in existence, I’m not all that interested in the topic. It’s just some political thing.

6:13 PM

I still need money. That should be easier, really. I can do that as anybody.

6:14 PM

Mats Rumen took control of the entire room, gained information he wasn’t even trying to. I bet, if I didn’t pussy out, and if there wasn’t the dilemma of transferring the money, he would’ve gotten away with it.

6:15 PM

I hope that’s not the universally transferred property of Dana Craig. Failing.

6:17 PM

I wonder if I could eavesdrop on those two? I could easily eavesdrop on just one of the two, of course.

6:18 PM

But I don’t have any confidence in my success if I can’t tell what they’re talking about beforehand.

6:20 PM

The only thing that matters is Michelle’s death, and there’s really no guarantee Grace knows about that. I have no reason to care what their fucking problem with each other is.

I wander nowhere in particular. I might not be able to walk around outside in this body again for a while. My life is at stake, and I lied about needing to stay home. (edited)

6:28 PM

Am I paranoid? Is there really anyone after me? I stare up at the sky.

6:31 PM

I guess it’s just sort of enticing. The cat and mouse game of being chased, taunting pursuers. Another bit from DN. But the loss condition is no laughing matter.

6:33 PM

The ideal balance is that people know me, but aren’t wary of Dana. That’s what I’ll aim for, eventually.

6:34 PM

I want to let this business about mafias and murders die down first.

6:34 PM

But can eventually become never?

6:34 PM

I was going to really stand up to Angela eventually.

6:35 PM

I was going to get a better job eventually.

6:35 PM

I was going to move out of relying on my parents finances eventually.

6:36 PM

I was going to try getting a degree eventually.

6:36 PM

I was going to start trying. Not today. No rush. But at some point.

6:38 PM

That’s why you can’t be alone, then. You think you need someone to force you to stop stagnating, lest you act at the last possible moment with a halfhearted progression of too little too late.

6:39 PM

Bull fucking shit. I don’t need to be motivated like a god damn kid. I’m acting. I don’t have a poor work ethic, I’m not just ‘lazy’. I made that whole chart yesterday!

6:41 PM

Being lonely doesn’t mean you want a parent, you disgusting fuckin’ creep.

6:42 PM

I’m taking things slowly because there is no precedent or clearly defined path forward here. I can ONLY fail by acting too rashly. This isn’t the same as being unemployed. (edited)

6:43 PM

…Is that why I can’t die, then? So there’s never a final deadline to finish before?

6:43 PM

This is absurd. Obviously nobody wants to die, that doesn’t require a justification.

6:46 PM

I take out my phone, and searching with quotes, check if there is a person named “Belto Shel”.

6:48 PM

((I’m sorry for forcing you to commit now on this potentially earth-shattering plot detail.))

Belto Shel is not a real person.

Good, good. I start heading home. I write “Belto Shel” all the way in the corner of the first page of the book. One letter should be much faster. My last resort way out, assuming things work as I expect.

((session can end when i reach home))

7:26 PM

((i did the two things i wanted yay))

I was not stopping you from reaching home sorry for being unclear. Dana Craig can arrive home.

7:28 PM

((Just a bit more))

((K))

7:32 PM

I’m arrive home. Presumably it’s not all that late in the day but wow that was exhausting.

7:37 PM

I’m going to check my phone Twitter etc just in case for one thing. Then for another thing [ARIEL DEPENDENT PARADOX RESPONSE]

There’s a knock on the door.

I slowly open the door.

Howard Scott, with the smuggest grin imaginable, stood outside the door. He’s wearing sunglasses for some reason. "Ms. Dana Craig, if you don’t mind. Official police business. I’d like to speak with you about the murder of Mats Rumen."

7:57 PM

((Session end))

((

))

7:58 PM

(( THEY HAVE NOTHING ON ME. ))

((Sunday if Ariel gets a makeup session. Otherwise none this week))

((This isn't even true))

((i wrote him. this is me. shut up))

Ehn/PC

((Sunday if Ariel gets a makeup session. Otherwise none this week))

((this didnt happen i assume))

((It did not))

((No session))

((~~I’m just saying. If you can contrive things right, Dana has already prepared for the possibility of permanently changing bodies,~~))

((This would be a funny solution if it worked, but it unfortunately does not))

((this is mostly a joke i presume this would cause way more problems))

8:50 PM

((yeah))

i know my rights mr scott youre legally obligated to give me a month to prepare my response to your questioning

((Sunday. Unless Sandra cancels her makeup session, but I’ll warn you in advance if that’s the case))

Dana Craig

I could also check on the progress of the Michelle investigation, but I’d rather stay away from police for a bit. …I can explain what I’m doing to Ariel tomorrow if I decide to pursue this. She shouldn’t have any issue. But for now, I’ll leave it be. I’m assuming it’s quite late. If she’s not interrupted by anything in particular, Dana Craig (me) will spend the rest of the night gaming and then sleep.

((True))

And Atmey lied...

Ehn/PC

((Sunday. Unless Sandra cancels her makeup session, but I’ll warn you in advance if that’s the case))

((so just sunday right.))

((Saturday is ideal if you can make that))

((i CAN and that is EASIER))

anyway the crazy dana craig thing is its perspective on base human desires (SEX. HAVING SEX) and how the problem with society is that it prevents us from being feral animals and having sex and killing people all the time

((TRUE))

“Huh?”

Ariel May is standing behind him.

What?

2:02 PM

No, she can’t have sold me out. If she had, she must have had the common sense to not show up in front of me. Unless she’s that confident…?

"May I come in?" Howard.

“No thanks.” I exit my house. “Out here is fine. It shouldn’t take long. I don’t have any information for you. Don’t even really know who that is.”

2:08 PM

I guess that could be problematic if Ariel somehow gave him the impression I do know who he is. But I can feign ignorance. Not like I remember every name I hear.

Howard chuckled confidently. "Are you nervous?"

I roll my eyes. “From the presence of a police officer? Who would be? I feel real protected right now.”

"Heh." He smiled, and pointed to his sunglasses. "Most reflective pair on the market. And I don’t plan to stop wearing them any time soon. You care to guess why?"

“I don’t know, you’ve become insecure about your eyes? This is turning out to be a really dumb conversation.” How the hell could he know anything? This is obvious nonsense. What the fuck is going on?!

2:40 PM

I stare in confusion briefly at Ariel.

Ariel just kind of shrugs. Howard drops the smug attitude. "Let’s skip the theatrics. I’ve gone through it too much to find any fun in it at this point." He motioned to his gun: "Worst case scenario, a brief suspension. You die, and I get a paid vacation. Sounds fine to me. You still wanna play dumb?"

I pick up the slack in smugness, uncannily distorting my face smilularly as paranoia and adrenaline numb me to consequence. “That’s better. It’s a good line. Probably right, too. Was my storytelling last time that good? I can come up with plenty of false confessions if it’s for this guys murder. Much more specific than the earlier prompt.”

3:08 PM

“You got a thing for threatening young women with that? I’m flattered. It feels a little dirty not being your first, though.” I glance over at Ariel, still trying and failing to gauge what the hell’s going on with that.

Ariel jumps in between Dana and the gun. "There’s no need to get violent. You don’t have any proof." "True. But like I said, I wasn’t aiming for the courtroom." Howard puts his hand around his gun but leaves it there. "That’s option 1. My guess is you’ll prefer option 2."

“Tch.” Tch. Tch. “What would that entail, then?”

"Let’s say we both walk our separate ways, and you’re still free. My guess is, next thing you’ll do is take over the body of someone with access to me. My money's on Kingsley, but that doesn’t matter too much. You’ll get them to silence me, and then move on. Don’t be proud of that plan. If I die, all of my compiled evidence will be released. Next thing you know, we’ll be having a quick reunion in hell. So don’t try something cheap like that. I’m far more than some old man. I’m a cop."

I laugh. “I’d absolutely like to see that evidence, now that I’m getting a feel for what exactly you’re accusing me of. But I’m not quite curious enough to kill a man.”

"Here’s what I’m offering." He placed his hand in his pocket, and dragged out one of the diamonds from the day before. "You can have me as an enemy, or you can have me as an ally."

“I’m not so sure there’s a difference. You ever hear the fable of the scorpion and the frog?” I chuckle nervously. Maybe this is… no longer the time to escalate. “But I’m willing to put off whatever mutually assured destruction you think will happen. I’m partial to the resolution of this conversation where my skull stays intact.”

"Smart." He smirks. "I’m not usually the first to stoop to this kind of criminal collusion, but I’m getting slightly desperate here. These diamonds you stole, you got any clue how much they’re worth?"

“I don’t know how much the thing you’re holding is worth, no. I assume quite a bit.”

"You don’t have to play dumb." He shoves it back in his pocket. "But you’re right, quite a bit. You stole a whole bag, too, so I imagine that’d make a pretty big dent in anyone's bank, even Shuichi Maoziwam." He paused for a moment. "Maoziwam’s bank account more than doubled yesterday. Right the same hour you sent the police force into a frenzy, I might add."

“I guess it wasn’t very much of a loss to him, then. Are you suspicious of his earnings?”

"Not really. He got them from Grobber Brentwood and Sean Niebel. Problem is that for him to pull off his stupid bank heist, he would have to know the police would get distracted by you that day. I mean… Bags of diamonds conveniently laid out, guarded by a single rookie cop. He laid it out purposely."

"......" I don't want to give anything important up. But still... "...I agree. The incident is asinine. It is neither an effective way of storing money nor an effective way of taking it. Circumstances were set up entirely so that the absurd result could happen. And if you claim Maoziwam was able to benefit because of it, that more or less acts as confirmation."

4:17 PM

So is Ehn... his? Did he create it? Have I played into the ridiculous money-making scheme of some crazy billionaire?

4:18 PM

If my choices are to be a puppet to the state government or a puppet to an independent miser, I'd be tempted to do myself a fucking Marco Gould. But maybe I can thread this needle.

"Maoziwam’s not the leader of this scheme, though. My money's on the butler." Howard takes out his phone and displays an image of Gus

"Okay." I don't recognize this man. "What are you after, then? He already succeeded, apparently."

"This man was my old partner. There was an… Incident about a decade back. Now he’s a right hand man for the mafia. He’s also a corpse a few blocks off." His confident facade breaks apart momentarily. "I’m done being patient. I’ve got a lot of power as a cop, but you’ve clearly got some I lack. I won’t rest until I know the mastermind's dead and buried. Maybe a little after that if his grave's low on spit." He forces a chuckle. "In exchange, I can make these diamonds into useful money for you. Same for all your other money laundering needs, assuming I have the right read on your future endeavours. Sound fair?"

This is obviously a terrible idea. But I'm essentially being held at gunpoint for it. The mastermind... does such a person still exist? Is it not just Maoziwam? I suppose it doesn't matter to me. If he's chasing a ghost, that just means I can use him for longer. He'd only bring up the money laundering instead of just "do what I say or you'll die and go to jail" if he believed he needed to. If he believed I had more leverage in negotiation. Which is good. Ariel might have sold me out, but she doesn't know everything about me, so he can't either. I'm an anomaly from his perspective. He knows I'm no God, but he also can't be certain of the exact limits of my abilities. After all, even I'm not certain of that. And for something like money laundering, that's a long term complex process. Aside from being something I need, it's not the sort of thing he could just be lying about to get me to do one thing for him. This would have to be a more lengthy partnership. Which means more time I don't die, more time the people who know about me stays constrained, more time to think of where to go from here. I always need more time. But I'll take a step forward now. "Fine. I'll cooperate. You're reasonable enough."

4:49 PM

This still leaves Ehn's 'favor'. If I have the network of allegiances right, that would be diametrically opposed. I'd be using Ehn's bestowed gift against the goals of its ally. Can it force me to cooperate if needed?

4:51 PM

Or no, maybe this is still something Ehn set up. Obviously those idiots at the storage location were people who Ehn had communicated with, so trying to simplify this to 'sides' is reductive. Just like they were meant to fail, maybe Howard is too.

4:51 PM

I'll break out. One day. Take every opportunity I can to understand what I'm breaking out of. Make a plan. Execute it. And then I'll be free.

"Good. Niebel's MIA, so I can't give you an address or anything... But here." He hands you a piece of paper with an address. "This is Brentwood's. Find out why he was singled out, and why anyone would want something from him. That's all from me. …For now."

"I don't know what you're actually talking about, but okay. I'll see what I can learn."

He walks away a bit, before turning back. "...Actually, one last thing."

"Mm?" This better not be some fuckin' gotcha.

"The money laundering. I used some of your money to buy you 2 some businesses as a 'gift'. That's where you'll report it in your taxes."

"I see."

5:08 PM

"I figured it'd be funny to make the workplace 'personalized'. You may as well consider it a direct promotion from your current jobs."

"Meaning...?"

"I mean that you own that store now. The one I bought cigarettes from you at once. Feels like months ago now." Howard. "Does that mean-?" Ariel. "Yeah." Howard.

“Oh. Okay.” Weird.

He leaves.

Hm.

"Is it true?" Ariel.

I search the internet for “Grobber Brentwood”.

5:32 PM

“Is what true?” I don’t look at her.

Dana Craig

I search the internet for “Grobber Brentwood”.

((Roll))

((4))

Nothing.

5:34 PM

"Did you kill him?"

“No. That right there was the first I heard of him being dead. It must’ve happened after I left him. Dunno if the officer even really thinks I’m responsible for his death. It would look like a suicide if I was.” I answer honestly.

5:38 PM

“Did he talk with you about all this beforehand?”

"Not much. He just said he wanted to talk to you. Oh, and he's also seen the brush."

“So he has.” Seeing is believing. Saying magic isn’t real won’t work on him. But that still doesn’t mean he has any real way to convince anyone else.

5:45 PM

I let out a deep sigh. “All that buildup and I’m tasked with doing something a regular fuckin’ police officer should be doing.” I stare at the unhelpful search results. “I don’t even understand who this guy is or how he’s relevant. Hell, even if I met up with him, what would I even say? I was just shown a picture of Gus

, I don’t know who he is.”

"Maybe there's more about him online?"

“Hell if I know. Do you know his name?”

6:02 PM

jojo part 7 the emotes are the beginning. by the end of AG dana will speak like this

SPOILER

"No."

“Hmph.” I stare at the address. “Well, I don’t have anything else to do today.” Social circle’s taken a huge hit lately.

It is actually getting fairly late, for note.

~~I guess I spent longer than I thought standing and staring at Howard between the time he introduced himself and the time we started conversing.~~

6:17 PM

“It can wait until tomorrow. Night.” I halfheartedly wave to Ariel and return to my home.

6:21 PM

After entering my home, I sigh. I already got weirdly introspective earlier. Let’s skip losing it for tonight.

6:28 PM

It’s late, but I wouldn’t say quite late enough to just go to sleep. I’m not tired, at any rate. I boot up my computer. Frankly, even social media seems like too much right now. I’ve interacted with people enough. I could watch a movie? But I haven’t heard of anything good lately. I gamed yesterday, but that was in a bit of an haze, and I’m certainly not bored of it. I start up old reliable, the infinitely replayable roguelike: The Binding of Eric. (edited)

6:29 PM

Or is it roguelite? I can never keep track of the stupid pedantry. Even roguelike is already implying some deviation from the norm, something it merely RESEMBLES rather than BEING. A facsimile of… what? What the fuck is a pure Rogue game?

6:30 PM

I play as, of course, Eric. I smirk in anticipation seeing that I’ve rolled the shotgun as my starting item. I’m a versed enough gamer to know how lucky this is.

6:36 PM

This allows for easy domination over earlier floors. Suboptimal play means i both take too much time and too much damage to be able to activate the force quit button sequence, though, so I opt to go Q path. As is standard, Eric goes from a silent protagonist to someone who gradually never fucking stops talking as the run progresses. A lot of people mute voices after their first few times playing the game, but I’d consider that a cowards way out. You might as well just enable invincibility. It’s an intentional and thoughtful part of the games design; items like the Temporal Ass Pain are completely broken without sound making parsing the information more difficult. Besides, Keith Silverstein is a treasure. He puts his entire heart and soul into the role. In playing, I truly feel like I am Eric. I gain an understanding for all consuming rage towards children, and lust towards women. His is a tragic tale; a child raised without love in a home where his one comfort in life died without him being able to do anything.

6:39 PM

A blind item I pick up winds up being the Collar That Is Going To Explode And Kill You In Two Minutes. I curse under my breath. Of course. Luck like this never holds forever. There’s no way that’s enough time. Do I just reset? No. I gotta see this through. Maybe… I throw caution to the wind. I take a ton of contact damage from bumping into a bunch of pretentious assholes in gas masks, but by this point, I have enough health to tank it.

6:43 PM

At last, I reach the room for the final boss, [SPOILER]. The community calls him Spoilus. The giant amorphous black mass censoring the appearance of the mastermind of Zero Time Dilemma attempts to rip me (Eric) asunder using its copious tendrils. Freud weeps. But I know these attack patterns like the back of my hand. It’s just a matter of time. I’m… not going to make it. I have 15 seconds left and it just entered an invulnerable phase. I shake my head. How to go out onto my own terms? Is it to fight as long as I can, or actively choose my demise? …There’s only so much time to decide. I run into the abyss. Eric dies, and a haunting music box plays beneath the minimalist game over screen.

6:43 PM

This is the most important thing I’ve done all day.

6:46 PM

I don’t have another run in me today. I stand uncomfortably in a cold shower for several minutes, coping with my failure. It’s really not that big of a deal, honestly. I just would rather dwell on my gamer mistakes. Presumably, this isn’t the only time I’ve exercised personal hygiene in the past week, but it’s important to note only now for the purpose of setting the scene. Marginally less gross looking, I collapse into bed. Sleep follows soon after.

6:46 PM

Dana finishes the chapter.

Lelouch woke up in her bed the next day.

((This isn't a response, fuck you)) (edited)

Lelouch did this and then got out of bed, making sure not to disturb Jade. She then did the daily cereal routine but with GoGoat Pebbles. Halfway through making this elaborate meal, she remember11ed that she actually needed three bowls. She then set up all the bowls on the table next to the couch Maria was sleeping on, placed the milk next to them (she didn't know if Maria liked her cereal dry or not) and then turned on the tv on the lowest volume.

Ehn/PC

((This isn't a response, fuck you)) (edited)

((i was TYPING

))

((I don't believe you))

((you're right i typed all of that out in 2 seconds))

((Typed all of what))

Lelouch Maoziwam

((hi))

((Fake))

2:32 PM

Jade woke up next. "Good morning, Ms Lelouch."

"Good morning, cutie!~"

"ashdabjdajdjkadbkajd." Jade says this.

"New password

2:37 PM

"I made you GoGoat Pebbles. Do you want to wait for Maria to wake up or eat with me right now?"

2:38 PM

"I'm not really sure what her sleeping schedule is like... she could sleep in for a while."

"Perhaps she needs us to wake her up?" Jade.

"Hmmm maybe." Lelouch tapped Maria's shoulder. "Hey Maria, it's time to wake up

3:03 PM

"...Hm?" Maria made a noise.

"Morning!" Lelouch smiled. "I made you breakfast."

"Morning." She rubbed her eyes.

"Do you like your cereal with milk? Wait, of course you'd like it with milk who doesn't like cereal with milk..." Lelouch poured it into each bowl.

"Umm... Thank you?" Maria. "Yes, thank you." Jade.

"No problem!" Lelouch ate the cereal.

Maria and Jade ate.

Lelouch finished eating. "Mmmm now that's done, let's get down to business! We need to get that perfume back from Shuichi and afterwards track down that Hav guy."

"I have an idea about the perfume, Ms. Lelouch." Jade.

"What is it?" Lelouch kaedayed.

"As long as we keep stealing it as ourselves, your father and Gus will just keep knowing to take it back. We should steal it under the guise of actual thieves. Any enemy we face can’t stop us if they don’t know who we are."

"That's a great idea! You're so smart, Jade

"We should get costumes, too. Adopt supervillain names to use when we share your world." Jade.

"Supervillain? I guess that is how those who don't yet understand the greatness we'll bring will see us. It'll be like Kite all over again."

"Well obviously we’ll actually be heroes, but the greatest heroes in history were all seen as villains for their time weren’t they?" Jade. "Weren’t the villains also seen as villains?" Maria. "Shush. That doesn’t matter." Jade.

"You definitely have a point Jade. Let's go shopping! We have to make sure we have the greatest costumes ever!"

5:03 PM

"We should get them custom made. We can use the perfume to make sure the tailors don’t tell anyone." Jade.

"So we still have to get the perfume first... Since we still have to look different, why don't we just go through that Hav's closet? He should have some more of those white suits."

5:08 PM

"We'd just have to make sure he isn't there."

"We could steal the perfume, and then when we have the costumes, we can steal other things in this apartment. Your father shouldn’t be able to tell." Jade.

"We'd have pull it off quickly so they don't suspect us. I'm sure we can pull it off though!"

"Exactly! Should we get Maria a costume too? I believe she’d be too… Maria for it."

"Too Maria for what?" Lelouch is genuinely confused just like microreive from real life because she's tired and has no reading comprehension.

"Well, you know…" Jade pointed at Maria. "She doesn’t exactly scream 'authority figure'."

"Oh! She can still definitely help us out though. Isn't that right, Maria? You'll support our cause and do what I tell you?"

5:49 PM

"Maria of all people would understand the greatness we'll bring. Our first fan if you will!"

Lelouch Maoziwam

"Oh! She can still definitely help us out though. Isn't that right, Maria? You'll support our cause and do what I tell you?"

Maria nodded.

5:58 PM

"But she shouldn’t get a costume, right?" Jade.

"She doesn't need a full blown one no, but she needs at least some sort of disguise." (edited)

"I suppose." Jade got up. "But we should probably go quickly."

"Alright!" Lelouch left her room and quietly went to check if Shuichi and Gus were in the apartment.

They were not.

Lelouch gets a text from Shawn.

Lelouch ignores the text like always. "They're gone! I'm gonna go take it."

"Alright!" Jade.

She made her way to the office

woooh

It’s locked.

((Saturday))

The office door is locked.

Lelouch tried to open it multiple times anyways. "Of course he locked it..." I could look for his keys but that'd probably leave more suspicion on me than if I just broke in. That's what thieves usually do right? Wait no... usually they have lock picks. How am I supposed to learn how to do that so quickly though... "Do either of you guys know how to pick locks?"

"You need tools for that." Jade.

"Uhh some people use bobby-pins for this, no? I have some of those you can use if you know how."

"I could try."

"If it doesn't work, I guess we can google it?" Lelouch says this and then travels to the restroom, grabs two bobby-pins, and returns to the office door.

Jade attempts to pick the lock.

2:25 PM

This fails.

"Here let me try." Lelouch pulls up https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.wikihow.com/Pick-a-Lock-with-a-Bobby-Pin%3Famp%3D1 and attempts to unlock the door.

((Roll))

((19))

The lock opens.

"Aha! I'm so good at this." Lelouch looks around the office for the perfume.

It's on the same shelf as usual. Shuichi never changes the layout of anything.

Lelouch grabbed the perfume and let out a sigh. "I was worried he was going to put this somewhere else honestly..." She then looked around. "Should we make a mess of the office then? Maybe leave a card as well with whatever name we choose for our villain disguises?"

"We should steal more things, so he doesn't get suspicious of the perfume." Jade.

"That's what I was thinking as well." Lelouch takes various valuables from Shuichi's shelves.

"Maria, take everything you can find." Jade does this as well. Maria follows the instructions.

Lelouch kept one hand empty to grab a trash bag on her way back to her room. "Let's put everything in here. I think it'd be a good idea to throw it out in a dumpster away from the apartment in case Shuichi goes so far as to check the trash. There's no need in keeping this for ourselves anyways."

3:13 PM

"Why don't we stay the night at Maria's too? I bet Shuichi would think that I was too angry to stay and it'd give us an alibi. All I'd have to do is get rid of her father. We can also leave our new outfits there once we get them."

"Alright, let's go!" Jade went to the elevator.

Lelouch did as well. "C'mon Maria!"

Maria followed.

Lelouch pressed the button for the lobby.

3:20 PM

"Thanks for the idea of doing this, Jade." Lelouch smiled.

"All of my ideas might as well be yours, Ms. Lelouch." Jade.

"We really do work best when together huh hauu

Jade smiled.

3:26 PM

The elevator reached the lobby.

Lelouch checked if Gus was in the lobby.

Gus is not in the lobby.

3:30 PM

Hav Kerloe and a similar looking man walk into the lobby.

Hav awoke in a hospital bed.

I look at my surroundings.

It's a normal hospital room.

Can I get up?

2:07 PM

(I try to get up.)

Hav can get up.

Is there a door in the room?

There is a door.

I walk to the door and attempt to open the door.

It opens.

What do I see outside the door?

It's a hospital hallway. Some doctors and patients are walking around.

I walk left.

The hospital corridor certainly does continue left. This place isn't a maze or anything you can just say you go to the entrance it is labelled.

Boooooring. I do that.

Ethfan was seated in the hospital lobby.

I stop when I see him, and wait for him to say something.

He looked at Hav with some kind of deep anger. "Come on, let's go." (edited)

2:40 PM

((Yes))

"...Okay."

Ethfan walked out of the hospital.

I follow wherever he goes. (edited)

?????????????

2:50 PM

Ethfan stepped into an alleyway and suddenly shoved Hav against the wall. "What did you do!?"

"N-Nothing... There was an accident, I think..."

"I'm not talking about the fire!"

"Then... What?"

"Your clothes! The suit, the bandages! What the hell do you think you're doing?" This was the most heated Hav had ever seen Ethfan.

"O-Oh... Sorry, I...forgot that I was still wearing this." I attempt to take off the suit and bandages.

Hav is not currently wearing bandages, he notices this as he tries to take them off. Ethfan stops him from stripping in an alleyway. "That's not the problem. Why are you wearing it?"

"I... A friend told me to."

"A friend? You, Hav Ker-" He takes a sharp breath "You have a friend? You're going to try to make me think that?"

"Yes..."

"Who are they, then?"

"I don't know his name, but he wears a white suit and bandages..."

He lets out an agonized groan. "Of all the people you could've met... You truly are lucky." He laughed uncomfortably, staring at the ground for a moment. "Or maybe unlucky would be more appropriate?"

I say nothing for a moment, feeling slightly conflicted. "...You know him?"

"Something like that." He bit his lip, before returning to his normal mildly cheery persona. "Allow me to make this perfectly clear. You will never speak him to him again. You will never so much as try to speak to him again. Most of all, you will not wear this suit again."

"I understand, I'm sorry."

He pulled out his phone and did something with it. "...Good. Alright. We're all sorted then."

"I'm sorry again..."

"Are you? Are you truly?" He was still smiling as usual.

"Yes... It won't happen again."

A car pulled up outside the alleyway. "Alright then. Let's get you home, and move on. ...Let's just move past this." He let out a miserable laugh as he approached the car.

I follow him into the car.

"Where are you going?" The driver. Ethfan responded with Hav's address.

I say nothing to either my brother or The Driver.

The car drives off.

3:43 PM

Neither of them say anything if Hav doesn't.

This happens.

The car drives past Hav's apartment without stopping.

((Is Ethfan in the backseat with me?))

((Yeah))

I tap Ethfan on the shoulder. "W-What's going on?"

"Hm?" Ethfan looked outside. "Oh, driver. You missed it." (edited)

4:04 PM

"Oh, sorry." The driver kept the drivering.

I keep the not talking.

"You’re terrible at this. Just stop the car." Ethfan. "No." The driver

"?"

"Stop the car!" Ethfan. The driver turned around in his seat, and aimed a gun at Ethfan. "No. I won’t let you do that."

"P-Please don't hurt him..."

"I’m not going to hurt either of you if you don’t make me." The driver. "Who the hell are you? Who do you work for?" Ethfan.

I keep quiet.

"Who am I? That’s simple." The driver said his name. "But I don’t work for anyone. Not that I even could."

((WHAT DO YOU MEAN THE DRIVER SAID HIS NAME PICK A NAME COWARD))

((This is intentional))

4:54 PM

"What the hell are you talking about?" Ethfan. "One of you is a main character, aren’t you?" The Driver. "Someone the world revolves around. You’re in this car."

((im smoking Fucking crack)) I say nothing.

"That doesn’t make any sense." Ethfan spoke calmly. "The world does not simply revolve around people. Are you some kind of narcissist?" "Not at all. I may not be one of them, butI know for a fact they exist. And that you’re one of them." The Driver looked at Ethfan with desperation. "Can’t you see? Can’t you see that none of this is real? Look at him! He’s not even talking at any point of this conversation! Do you really think that’s a real person? That a real person would stay silent during all this!?"

I turn to Ethfan. "W-What's going on?"

Ethfan ignored Hav. "Surely some part of you must understand that this is delusion. Main characters? Silent people aren’t real? What are you even planning to do with this?" "I just have to make sure you don’t leave. As long as the main character is here, I can exist. You’ll never understand. But I will." The Driver.

I am very concerned.

"Did you ever meet the others?" The Driver. "The other main characters." Ethfan stops engaging with the conversation, instead opting to examine the car. "There was a man who wears bandages for a face. There was a man who speaks to mushrooms or something. There was a girl who well… Compared to the first 2, you 2 are rather dull. I couldn’t even tell which of you was the main character at first. Thankfully, they’re not too hard to spot." The Driver.

"C-Can't you, like, open the car door so we can leave?" I say to Ethfan.

"The car is currently driving. That’s suicide, which is quite far from my goal at the moment."

"I'm really sorry for what I did... Please don't be mad at me..."

"What, do you think I did this? This is… Beyond absurd. What could I possibly gain?" Ethfan. "Gaslight you, make you doubt your sanity. It’s all so you stay in line and follow your designed path. It’s what they do. They want you to stay a mindle-" The Driver. "I can quite assuredly say that no one is talking to you." Ethfan.

"No, of course not! I just...wanted to apologize again..."

"For what? Did you somehow cause this?" Ethfan.

"For you being angry at me..."

"Do you even understand why I’m angry at you?" Ethfan.

"Because I was wearing those clothes..."

Ethfan just sighed. "No one wears a white suit in Avengard. That’s not a risk you take. Least of all you." "Manufactured conflict. A white suit? No one wears an incredibly normal suit colour? Who the hell could possibly decide something that absurd." The Driver.

"...Is that why I had to go to Shelk to find one...?" (edited)

"Why would you even go that far?" Ethfan.

((Sorry I got insanely distracted by something very dumb)) "Because I trusted my friend... I'm sorry..."

Ethfan stared at him for a moment, before turning back to The Driver. "Do you really think you can just keep driving us around forever? You're not even getting anything out of this, are you?"

I do not say anything else.

"As long as you're here, I exist. I can't return to nothingness, no matter what. I have to keep existing, no matter what. We've all been raised to think of death as a natural concept. Someday, we'll be killed. We all die eventually, so it must be normal. But I'm going to die the second none of you see me. I will retreat to a void, an existenceless existence. A life where no one knows who I am, where no one remembers that I existed. No one should experience that! And yet, I know that whenever none of you is there, I'm there! I'm dead! I don't want to die ever again! Can't you understand that!? Can't you just shut up and enjoy this eternal car ride where we can all exist!? You don't have to die either! If you just stop responding, stop doing anything... We won't ever leave this car. We won't ever progress. None of us have to die. You just have to stop playing! And then I don't have to die!" The Driver. Ethfan took out a gun and aimed it at The Driver's head. "I'm afraid I have bad news."

((EXACTLY.)) I appear to be a bit terrified.

The Driver suddenly swerves hard off the road, slamming everyone to the sides, before striking a hard wall. ((End session))

9:54 PM

((This is The Driver. What the fuck is this character))

((To confirm, was Ethfan wearing a white suit this whole time? That's what I assumed but I wanted to make sure))

((Yeah))

((It's so fucked up that it would be out of character for me to ask why))

((You said you were busy this week right))

((No that's next week))

5:08 PM

((This week works))

((Saturday then))

5:18 PM

((But it might be fairly short))

The Driver suddenly swerves hard off the road, slamming everyone to the sides, before striking a hard wall.

Ghrk! Am I conscious.

Hav is conscious.

I don't do anything yet.

"Get out, Hav!" Ethfan opens his own door and exits the vehicle.

I follow him through the door that he opened (rather than opening my own).

Ethfan clutched his head. "What a psychopath..."

"A-Are you okay?"

"Yes, Hav. I'm fine. No thanks to you, I'm sure." Ethfan.

"I'm sorry..."

"Yes, you're sorry now. Earlier would've been useful but you're sorry now."

"I was sorry before too... What do you mean...?"

"You were useless! Silent! You were so pathetic he assumed you weren't real!"

"I didn't want to make things worse... I thought you would be upset if I said the wrong thing."

He stormed around in a circle for a moment. "Where is that driver?"

"Um, maybe he's in the car?"

"Did you look?"

"No..."

"The car is right there. If you're going to propose looking inside, why not do it first?" Ethfan looked inside the car. "He's not there. Great." He mumbled this final sentence, but Hav was able to make it out. "The grandmaster himself gets assaulted by random vanishing uber drivers now, just excellent." He laughed to himself in that usual weird miserable tone.

I look to Ethfan expectantly before eventually saying, "What should we do now?"

"The plan was to take you home. And I don't intend on calling another Uber, so let's walk." He smiled once again as if everything was normal.

I smile back and follow.

As Hav and Ethfan enter the lobby, Lelouch and 2 girls of her age are standing in the lobby.

(( #hav-and-lelouch ))

I don't say anything or think anything or do anything different from what I otherwise was already doing (nothing). ((For note, both me and the person with me are wearing white suits. This might be releevant.))

Lelouch kind of just looks at Hav in surprise for a second. ((i get to do the monologue thing now haha! (don't click mvdy))) Shit, why'd he have to be here now if all times?! I should just spray him and find out what's up with these white suits! But if I somehow miss or if it doesn't work like before with Shuichi, that could completely screw our plan over... Should I just introduce myself to him and hope he doesn't recognize me? No that's too dangerous... Well I know he lives here anyways, I can just find him again later when my hands aren't quite literally full. Alright, I'll just keep walking then and hope he doesn't take note of us. Lelouch walks past Hav to leave

If nothing else happens then I will continue following the guy I'm with yeah

"Ms. Lelouch, he's here!" This girl, who is with Lelouch, points to Hav.

"It's alright, Jade. We can find time to talk to him later."

I turn to the person with me. "W-Who is that?" (edited)

"Sorry, we didn't mean to bother you! We just recognized you from the fire."

[inner monologue] This is the person from before, isn't it? The confrontation with the old man and the bandaged figure. Does my brother know I've seen her before? No, it's fine, it doesn't matter. I just need to be honest with him. That's what he wants. I'm sure he desires as much information as possible. I need to tell him I've been involved in these things. It's worth a try, if only to stop him from being angry at me. I point to Lelouch and speak to the guy with me. "I've seen this person before. She was arguing with an old man. And...the friend I mentioned before was there too."

The guy with Hav looks incredibly panicked for a second. "...Lelouch Maoziwam."

"Is something wrong? Did I...do something wrong?"

Lelouch whispered to Jade, "Here, take the perfume and spray them with it. It should be guaranteed to work if you do it." If that guy knows who we are we're so screwed fuck fuck fuck (edited)

"Run." The man with Hav pulled out a gun and immediately shot at Lelouch.

I do as commanded and run to the stairs from the apartment.

Lelouch tried to dodge?? "Jade! Hurry!" If she successfully didn't get shot, she passed the perfume to Jade.

((Channel split))

((Roll))

((10))

The man's shot misses. Jade catches the perfume.

4:22 PM

((You've finally met the face of this image))

"Maria, stop that guy! Take the gun away from him! And Jade, spray him quickly!"

As Maria tries to stop him, a bullet grazes right past her year. She freezes in terror. The man flees into the elevator. He smiles at Lelouch. "Goodbye."

Lelouch tries to chase after him. "Dammit, get back here!"

((Roll))

((17))

4:32 PM

Also she grabs Jade and Maria when doing this

3 people do not make it into the elevator sorry.

((Fucked up!)) "Shit! Maria, why did you freeze up like that?? You seriously couldn't stop some old man?!"

"I'm sorry Ms. Lelouch." Maria. "Sorry doesn't cut it. You were useless." Jade.

"You were too, Jade! You should've immediately sprayed him the moment I gave you the go ahead! Now they're both still out there AND know who we are!"

4:44 PM

"It would be so much easier if I could just do the spraying myself..."

"He was too far away!" Jade.

"Then move closer!"

"I was!" Jade.

"Then be faster?? I don't know! This goddamn thing is useless though if it only works in specific scenarios!"

"Should we go after him? Or go get the costumes?" Jade.

"Let's get rid of this first." Lelouch motioned to the bag with Stuff in it. "Let's go Maria, and both of you watch out for Hav." She left in the direction of the Maria House.

Jade and Maria followed.

As they were walking to the Maria House Lelouch broke the silence. "Sorry for getting upset earlier, Jade. That all just came out of nowhere and I didn't expect them to get away so quickly. We should prepare ourselves more in the future." She said nothing to Maria.

"Thank you, Ms. Lelouch." Jade.

"Maybe we can find a way to spread the area of the perfume. Like with how fog machines work, y'know?"

"Good idea!" Jade.

"Can I see the perfume for a second? I want to check something."

Jade gave her the perfume.

Lelouch checked if there was any difference in the amount of perfume in the bottle as before.

The perfume has not diminished at all.

"Look Jade! It seems this stuff won't run out at all, so we don't have to worry about using too much of it if we use the fog machine idea."

"That's great!"

"Sure is! That's one less thing we have to worry about."

Lelouch arrived at the Stanley mansion.

Lelouch checks if it's empty/if she can hear anything.

6:28 PM

Also were there any vehicles parked outside?

There are no vehicles. It’s empty.

"Looks like nobody is here. I'm going to go throw this stuff out." Lelouch takes the bag of Stuff and throws it away outside in the cool mansion trash can.

This happens.

Cool she goes back inside

((hi is this still going,))

((yeah sorry))

8:29 PM

Lelouch is in. The house.

"So! This will be our new base, guys! Exciting isn't it?"

"Umm... My dad still lives here..." Maria.

"I thought I already told you? I'll take care of him when he gets here, then we won't have to worry about anyone else."

"That's genius, Ms. Lelouch!" Jade.

"I try my best!"

"We should go get those outfits next!" Jade. (edited)

"Do you want to design it yourself or go window shopping and afterwards make any changes we want? I know a good store that has some fun clothes."

((hi))

"We should spray some tailors with the perfume and have them make it custom made. That way no one can dress as cool as you, Ms. Lelouch."

"Alright, let's go then! Hopefully by the time we come back Maria's dad is here so we don't have to worry about him popping in unexpectedly."

Jade went outside.

Lelouch led the way to AG Place.

What is AG Place.

The place AG tailors are at

They have those, sure. "We should try to get them alone." Jade.

"Hey Maria, would you stay here please? If you hear your father come home, I want you to hide. Make absolutely sure he doesn't know you're here. Afterwards, text me and I'll be here as soon as possible."

9:41 PM

"Oh, and don't freeze either." Lelouch smiled, "I'm sure you learned from earlier not to do that though." (edited)

Maria nodded and hid. I assume this happens before they leave lmao.

I love remembering to do things!! Lelouch may or may not think this.

Jade is waiting for your lead on the tailor store. (edited)

9:58 PM

Lelouch and Jade do this.

This affects nothing.

Tailor store walking!! Hoping they reach it.

10:00 PM

"God I sure love getting outfits with the gf

THEY ARE. ALREADY AT. THE STORE

WHAT

10:00 PM

did i misyndersatnd the

10:00 PM

lmao

YOU SAID SHE LED THE WAY THERE

I CANT READ

10:01 PM

OR TYOE

THAT MEANS THAT THAT IS WHERE THEY ARE

TULYPE

10:01 PM

!!! WORDS

10:01 PM

Lelouch opens!! The door!! "Ladies first

Jade entered.

Lelouch followed and gave her the perfume because I think(?) she's still holding it. ((How many people are in the store?))

There’s like 5 or so people. Aside from the 3 tailors.

"Oh, it isn't too packed in here. Make sure when you spray them no one is looking."

"How?"

"I can block their view for you."

"You can?" Jade.

"I mean I should be tall enough... I can just like, I don't know, stand??"

10:14 PM

"I would block the doorway and have you go crazy with it but cameras exist unfortunately." (edited)

The tailors are like. With people. Doing tailoring things. Important detail perhaps

Yeah I meant two at a time

10:15 PM

Lelouch thinks this. Normal thought.

"Why don’t we send it in through the ventilation?" Jade.

"You're so full of wonderful ideas

10:17 PM

"I’ll go find an opening." Jade goes outside.

"I'll come with you, I don't want to leave you alone."

Lelouch is not prevented from following.

Lelouch helps Jade look for the vent opening like from like like from amon like from amon gus like

Jade sprays a bunch into the opening, and then returns to the front of the store to see if it worked.

Lelouch follows and opens the door while being careful not to get hit by it.

The perfume is in the air you will get hit by it by just being in the store.

I meant that she opens the door outwards without stepping in. (edited)

10:32 PM

Epic Jean opening door in Q&A reference.

"Are you going to listen to us now?" Jade. Everyone inside just looks confused.

"Is it really not working again?? Maybe it has to be direct..."

10:35 PM

"Hey Jade, can you just spray one of them in the face like normal?"

"Alright." She went in. "The perfume smell is getting worse. Maybe it just takes longer."

"Maybe? I'm just worried the thing's broken somehow."

Jade waited a bit longer. "Will you all listen now?" "Yes." Everyone responded.

"Oh it worked!" Lelouch's eyes lit up. "It actually worked! Thank god!" She beamed at Jade.

10:40 PM

"No, Ms. Lelouch! Thank you!" Jade. (edited)

10:41 PM

Jade turned to the tailors. "Please stop helping these people. Me and Ms. Lelouch require cool outfits." And then they got to work yup.((end session))

10:41 PM

((You have a WEEK to design Lelouch gaming))

((Saturday))

Ehn/PC

Jade turned to the tailors. "Please stop helping these people. Me and Ms. Lelouch require cool outfits." And then they got to work yup.((end session))

Lelouch looked at the not-tailors. "You guys can wait over there. We'll need some people to tell us about how great we look after we're done."

They do this.

Ehn/PC

((You have a WEEK to design Lelouch gaming))

((didn't do this SORRY)) (edited)

2:11 PM

"Hey Jade, I was thinking about the outfits we could wear and I came up with an idea. You know about those awful white suits right? Well what if we acted as the opposite of them. We'd wear black which people associate with evil and darkness, yet in actuality we're against the real evil which are those white suit people!"

"That’s genius, Ms. Lelouch!"

"Tailors! Get us the coolest outfits known to man!" ~~The black clothes are like coffee is like women~~

((Top result on google))

((YUPPPP))

2:50 PM

((goes so hard))

The tailors brought cool outfits for women.

3:05 PM

Lelouch magical girl transformationed. Or just changed normally.

Jade also does this.

"How do I look?"

3:15 PM

"You look great!" Jade.

"You do too!

"Do you have any masks?" Jade asks the tailors.

"Not any of those ugly ones though! They have to be cute." Lelouch grumbled about Dream masks.

They do not have masks.

4:23 PM

"Hmm... Where could we get some...?" Jade.

"The mask store...?"

"Do those exist?" Jade.

"Probably. Everyone loves masks."

"Then let's go to one!" Jade.

"Alright! Let's take this off first, though." Lelouch unmagical girl transformationed and then searched for the nearest mask store on google maps.

4:42 PM

((yep))

Sure. They buy masks at the mask store. Which is a real thing that exists.

((https://www.themaskstore.com/ lmao??))

TheMaskStore

Home

4:48 PM

((going to themaskstore.com )) (edited)

4:49 PM

"Looks like Maria never called, so it should be safe to go back to our hideout-base-thing. We should probably come up with a cooler name..."

"We should head back to the apartment first. We need to make sure your father suspects random thieves, and not you."

"Should we just let him see us run out or something? I still think it'd be easier to make some kind of statement online or leave a card, it'd be less of a risk."

"A card could work."

"Well I'd want to change into our outfit just in case he walks in, but I'm not sure when would be the best time to do that. I definitely wouldn't want to wear this outside and arouse suspicion, but we also can't rely on changing in my room if Shuichi sees us before we even walk in."

"If anyone gets suspicious, we can just spray them."

"Oh yeah, that is true isn't it. We should be fine then

5:28 PM

"Let's go to the apartment then and change in the lobby's restroom. I doubt we'd run into Shuichi there."

Jade headed to the apartment.

Lelouch went with her yup

There are tons of cops around the building.

"Why are there—oh yeah. I guess a shooting would cause the police to come."

5:42 PM

"Y'know, I bet Shuichi would think Hav and that other guy took the perfume. It's probably not worth trying to get through the police right now. Who would see a scene like this and not make that connection?"

The coroner is here.

Lelouch notices this. "Wait is this really because of something else?? Can't believe someone else would dare cause an incident the same day I almost got shot."

5:46 PM

((Can Lelouch see who died or literally anything else from where she is))

((No))

((is there anyone walking nearby))

((A bunch of cops. Also, what is lelouch currently wearing?))

((she's wearing regular lelouch clothes))

5:50 PM

((when you say a bunch of cops, are there any that are standing on their own?))

((Do you mean in their way?))

((i mean anyone lelouch could feasibly get to talk to them without attracting anyone else's attention))

((She can talk to a cop, yes))

"Hey Jade, I'm going to go talk to that cop right there and I'm going to need you to spray him when no one else is looking. Got it?"

"Got it." Jade approached the cop.

"Hello, I was hoping we could speak with you for a second?"

"Yes, are you familiar with the victim?" The cop.

Lelouch looked at Jade in the way that looks like a signal

6:02 PM

Jade sprays him.

6:02 PM

"Listen to every command given by Ms. Lelouch."

"Thanks Jade!" Lelouch directed her attention to the cop. "Who is the victim?"

"Gus Amon. We found him with his head blown open by a gun." The cop.

((WHAT))

Shawn approached them.

(( #lelouch-and-shawn ?))

Ehn/PC

"Gus Amon. We found him with his head blown open by a gun." The cop.

Lelouch blankly stared at the cop for a second but then recovered. "Serves him right..." ((https://discord.com/channels/959192904184778753/980217097265217586/1025893258393559162 )) (edited)

((Yes))

Shawn is standing in the middle of a long corridor.

Shawn dashes down the corridor, knife in tow. The treasure should be around here

A new creature suddenly jumps onto Shawn, triggering a fight.

Shawn jumps back, redying his knife and gun. En garde!

The creature strikes Shawn. It's a dull attack. Shawn is clearly too powerful for this creature.

Ha!

2:13 PM

Shawn lunges forward, striking the creature in the chest with his knife

Critical hit! The creature is severely damaged. It calls for help.

2:16 PM

Another creature appears.

Shawn pulls out his gun, and fires it at the severely damaged creatrue to finish it off. He also shoots the new one a few times, for some chip damage

The first creature died. The bullets bounced off the second creature like nothing happened.

2:24 PM

The second creature struck Shawn with little effort, and it felt as if his leg was collapsing into itself.

Shawn stumbles back against the wall

2:24 PM

(theres a wall)

2:25 PM

"Fuck. fuck"

The creature approached him.

Shawn looked up at him

2:37 PM

What is this

The creature is some kind of humanoid, with all of it's limbs hanging loosely like useless spaghetti. It's body was distinctly human, but warped into painful agonizing proportions.

Nonononononononononono

2:40 PM

Why is this here why is he here no

2:40 PM

Fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck

2:40 PM

Shawn tried to move forward. He's paralyzed by fear

A crowbar fell at Shawn's feet.

Shawn reached out to the wall, barely able to stand. His eyes constantly darted between the crowbar and the shadowy man

The creature attacked him again, caving in his only working leg.

This isnt how things are supposed to go. This isnt right. This isnt

2:49 PM

Shawn stared the man in the eyes

Mats Rumen stared back at him.

FUck

2:59 PM

fuck

2:59 PM

Shit

2:59 PM

fuck

2:59 PM

god

3:00 PM

3:01 PM

01010000 01100101 01110010 01110011 01101111 01101110 01100001 00100000 00110101 01011011 01100001 01011101 00100000 01101001 01110011 00100000 01100001 00100000 00110010 00110000 00110001 00110110 00100000 01110010 01101111 01101100 01100101 00101101 01110000 01101100 01100001 01111001 01101001 01101110 01100111 00100000 01110110 01101001 01100100 01100101 01101111 00100000 01100111 01100001 01101101 01100101 00100000 01100100 01100101 01110110 01100101 01101100 01101111 01110000 01100101 01100100 00100000 01100010 01111001 00100000 01000001 01110100 01101100 01110101 01110011 00101110 00100000 01001001 01110100 00100000 01110100 01100001 01101011 01100101 01110011 00100000 01110000 01101100 01100001 01100011 01100101 00100000 01101001 01101110 00100000 01101101 01101111 01100100 01100101 01110010 01101110 00101101 01100100 01100001 01111001 00100000 01010100 01101111 01101011 01111001 01101111 00100000 01100001 01101110 01100100 00100000 01100110 01101111 01101100 01101100 01101111 01110111 01110011 00100000 01100001 00100000 01101000 01101001 01100111 01101000 00100000 01110011 01100011 01101000 01101111 01101111 01101100 00100000 01110011 01110100 01110101 01100100 01100101 01101110 01110100 00100000 01101011 01101110 01101111 01110111 01101110 00100000 01100010 01111001 00100000 01110100 01101000 01100101 00100000 01110000 01110011 01100101 01110101 01100100 01101111 01101110 01111001 01101101 00100000

It raised it's arm for another attack.

fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck

3:05 PM

Shawn tried to do anything. Any part of his body. Literally whatever he could do

3:06 PM

Could he

His arms are functional, and can reach the crowbar.

Shawn reached for it, collapsing onto the ground with his weak legs. He can’t feel them anymore

Mats Rumen stared at his pathetic efforts.

Fuck you you stupid fucking asshole. I hate your fucking guys you massive fucking bitch

3:31 PM

I can kill him. Snap of my fingers and he’s dead. Simple as that

Mats Rumen continues to be there.

Shawn attempts to stand up

3:44 PM

holding the crowbar

3:44 PM

He stares Mats Rumen in the eyes , then violently slams him in the shoulder with the crowbar

Mats Rumen collapses into a corpse.

Shawn collapses next to him

Another creature appeared. And then another. And then a dozen more. More and more appeared, approaching Shawn.

Shawn rasies himself up by his arms

All identical, future victims of Shawn.

Shawn goes against the wall again. He needs to get out. He cant be here. He's not this

3:53 PM

He's not!

They crawled closer and closer to him.

3:56 PM

The next moment, they were upon him.

3:57 PM

Shawn awoke in a panic in his bed.

Shawn's eyes are wide. He's breathing heavily

3:58 PM

Just a dream. Just a...

3:58 PM

Shawn is still wearing his clothes from yesterday. He must have been too tired to change.

3:59 PM

He gets out of bed, and changes into a new set of clothes. He consideres throwing his old clothes in the laundry. He puts them in the garbage can instead

4:00 PM

Shawn checks his phone. What day is it. and what time

It’s morning on Friday.

((out of touch thursday but its a montage of mats's corpse))

4:13 PM

Shawn heads downstairs and tries not to think about anything

4:13 PM

He makes himself breakfast and thinks about the guy from the funny tv show who talks about breakfast a lot. Then he thinks about how he's distracting himself. He drops an egg on the ground

4:13 PM

"God fucking damn it"

4:14 PM

Shawn tries to clean it up. He's frustrated, though, so he does it really fast and agressivly and ends up leaving some stain on the floor.

4:15 PM

Shawn makes himself some eggs fried sunny side middle. He eats them, packs his bag and stares at his phone. He scrolls through reddit at like 5x speed

People are posting a meme Shuichi Maoziwam posted last night. I don’t think anything else is notable about Reddit today.

What is the Shuichi Maoziwam meme

Check twitter.

thats weird

4:33 PM

Shawn waits for the School Bus. He tries to avoid his parents

The school bus arrives.

Shawn enters the School Buss

The Girl who’s usually on the bus with him is not there. I can’t remember if I told you her name but she’s NOT here.

shes Sophie rightt?

5:02 PM

or is this a different girl

It’s Sophie yes.

Hm. wonder where she is

5:07 PM

Oh god, did they try to kidnap her again?

5:07 PM

Fuck fuck fuck

5:07 PM

I'll... I'll talk with Kite about it. He'll make things okay

The bus arrived at school.

Shawn looks for Kite

((Roll))

((17))

Kite is around the back of the school. He seems to be punching air like an anime fight.

"Hey, Kite."

He doesn’t respond.

"Kite?"

"Oh, uh… Hey bro!" He flashed a thumbs up. "Did you like my cool moves? Don’t they show how strong and brave I am?"

"Yeah bro. You're going all out"

5:39 PM

Shawn sits down somewhere, like a bench or if theres nothing nearby, the floor

Kite followed him to the bench. "If anyone asks you about yesterday… I stopped that bad guy, alright? Don’t want people getting the wrong impression, you know."

"Yeah... I'll be sure to.."

5:51 PM

"He said something that really stuck with me"

5:52 PM

"Kite, we're heros, right?"

"Yeah, of course! The greatest heroes the world has ever seen! Gandhi'd probably give us a standing ovation. Well, assuming he wasn’t dead obviously." He smirked. "That guy was a criminal, he’s just trying to get in your head. You just gotta forget all about him, and move on. Plenty of fish in the sea, and a lot of those fish don’t pay taxes."

"Yeah, yeah. You're right"

"as always shawnduveldt

"But next time... We gotta save someone. We... We can't let him be right"

"Yeah, obviously. We’ll show him."

"We should get to class..."

"Right, yeah. Let’s go, bro!" He got up.

Shawn headed to class

Lelouch, Jade, and Maria aren’t here today.

"Lelouch, Jade, and Maria aren’t here today. That's weird"

6:15 PM

"You dont think they got kidnapped do you? Sophie wasn't here either"

"Oh, uh… Sophie's in the hospital."

"What? What happened?"

"She got shot apparently. Heard a rumour it was some kid named Sam Kidink who did it. Probably a delinquent." Kite leaned back in his chair. "He’s missing so I dunno where he is."

6:26 PM

"By the way, it’s totally not creepy that I know this. It’s really normal." Kite added.

"What?"

6:27 PM

"Sam Kidink shot her??"

6:27 PM

"also how do you know this what"

6:28 PM

There's no way that's right... Sam Kidink? The guy from yesterday?

6:28 PM

He seemed so reasonable though... This has to be a misunderstanding

"I told you. Really normal circumstances!"

"Well when you say it like that, it sounds like its not normal circumstances"

"How?"

Shawn kinda leans back a bit

6:35 PM

"Cmon man. If you know something, you gotta tell me. Besides, we gotta figure out why Sam Kidink shot her, right?"

https://twitter.com/_claypot/status/1563663515734671360?s=20&t=lJqCCXEt8bS4OCQlKHTejg

clay (@_claypot)

1954.

Likes

1706

Retweets

431

Ehn/PC pinned a message to this channel. 9/17/2022 6:47 PM

((This happens in homestuck))

Shawn Duveldt

"Cmon man. If you know something, you gotta tell me. Besides, we gotta figure out why Sam Kidink shot her, right?"

"I did tell you!"

"Ok well. We're gonna investigate this. and bring whoever shot Sophie to justice. So if theres any more info you have on it, you should tell me"

"Lelouch is definitely involved."

"Ok well I kinda figured that"

6:54 PM

Shawn pulls out his phone and texts Sam and Lelouch "Hey, where are you guys?"

No response from Sam.

"Damn"

7:15 PM

Shawn is lessoning

No response from Lelouch either(I love fast responses).

Thanks lelouch

The lesson happens but I don’t have Wikipedia open right now pretend it was really funny.

"These lessons get more and more abstract every time" Shawn to Kite

"Do they? I didn’t listen." Kite.

"Todays was like"

7:23 PM

"uh"

7:24 PM

"Whats the thing"

7:24 PM

"Yeah okay. Like a negative space lesson"

7:24 PM

"Like he implied the lesson was there but didnt actually give anything"

7:26 PM

"Do you get what im saying"

"No? What?" Kite.

7:29 PM

The class ends.

I’m back

8:53 PM

Shawn exits with Kite

"Alright, bro. Now let's get our costumes."

“Yeah…”

8:56 PM

“Who are we going after? Sam? Sentasaurus?”

"Uhh... Hm. I say Lelouch. We haven't done battle in a while."

"I dont think we've ever done battle with her"

8:59 PM

"Do you know where she is now? If Sophie was shot..."

"Then we clearly gotta step it up!" Kite ran to the alley.

"Haha, okay!" Shawn dashed after him.

Kite got dressed in costume quickly.

Shawn got dressed in costume not-as-quickly

"Heya!" Ehn appeared.

"Woah!"

"Hey Ehn" Kite. "How's it going?" Ehn.

"Hey, Ehn. Things have been... uh..."

9:46 PM

...

9:46 PM

...

9:46 PM

"Not great"

9:46 PM

"How have you been? Still translucent or whatever?"

"Yup!" Ehn. "We've got a name and everything now. We're full time heroes!" Kite bragged.

"Yeah..."

9:51 PM

"Say... Ehn? You wouldnt happen to have given anyone some kind of like..."

9:51 PM

"Remote mind control power?"

"Nah. That sounds like a crazy power."

"Well... Is there like... a different power-giving person?"

"Nope!"

"hm"

10:01 PM

"Have you ever heard of Collective Unconsciousness?"

"Nope!"

"Well... do you know where ??? is?"

"How did you pronounce that?" Ehn.

"kyukyukyu"

((Saturday))

Shawn Kite and Ashley

"Huh." Ehn.

((going to be kinda in-and-out for the first hour sorry))

2:05 PM

"Uhhh... the guy in the suit? with all the bandages?? Last time we saw him, he left with you"

"You mean Jay?"

"Yeah, him"

"Oh, I haven't seen him in a while. He's still alive. Anyway, what's up with you guys? Stop any cool bad guys recently?" Ehn.

"We've stopped a few." Kite brags by lying.

"Y-yeah..."

"We've got so many enemies, we're like living in a carnival of awesome heroism. Isn't that right, bro?" He lifts his hand up for a highfive.

Shawn isnt going to let his bro down, he high fives him back. It's pretty weak, though

"Hell yeah, bro!" Kite.

2:36 PM

"...You two." This girl enters the alley.

((jumpscare!))

2:42 PM

"Ah!'

2:42 PM

Shawn recognizes her right? Or no

He does yes. She was the girl who shot him a lot in chapter 2.

"You're that girl who shot me a lot 2 days ago!"

2:46 PM

((this is my fav gag))

"I believe we're on 3 days at this point. But otherwise, yeah." The Girl. "Let's get her, bro!" Kite readied his crowbar.

"Hang on Kite. We don't want a... a repeat of last time"

"Relax. I'm not here to fight you." She took out her gun and dropped it on the ground. "We're on the same side, after all. At least when it comes to Ray Elliott."

"Ray Elliot?"

3:09 PM

"Who is that?"

3:10 PM

Shawn shook his head for a second and then looked up

3:10 PM

"Who are you? Who do you work for? Why did you kidnap those two girls and the bandaged guy?"

"The one you call Kite. His name is Ray Elliott. And as for who I work for, I intend to get to that." "I mean... It's really easier to just say Kite." Kite.

((SORRY i didnt see this))

3:27 PM

"Ok. Talk. Who are you?"

3:27 PM

"How do you know Kite?"

"Are you familiar with the New Edlightenment? Well, I know he's at least familiar with the original." The Girl. "The... New?" Kite.

"Theres a new one?"

3:40 PM

"Is that who you're working for?"

"Yes. That's what the white suits represent. It's symbolic or something, at least that's what I hear. 9 years ago, many of us lost our parents. We were left with nothing but hatred for the original Edlightenment. Much like your friend there, I'd wager." She turned to Kite. "I was not particularly close to them back then, but the Elliotts were kind people."

3:47 PM

Kite just stared at her. "You... You mean...?" "You are not alone." The Girl.

"So if you all hate the edlightenment so much... why'd you make a new one?"

"Quite simply, we were wrong. The police fooled us all, promising that Edward Blythe had killed all of our parents. That he'd been a greedy conman, devoted to robbing them of all of their money and murdering them. They did their best to tear us down, and bury Edlightenment. They are the true scum of this story. They lied about it all." She took out a file and held it out for Shawn and Kite. "...I'm not buying it!" Kite backed away. "You tried to kill us!"

…

3:58 PM

“Why did you kidnap Lelouch Maoziwam?”

3:58 PM

Shawn doesn’t move towards the file

"Sometimes the law is not enough to punish criminals. Sometimes the law does nothing but help criminals. You two agree, don't you?"

… Lelouch isn’t a criminal, right? I mean she’s a bit odd here and there… but for the most part she’s just a normal girl. But at the same time, she’s the daughter of Shuichi Maoziwam… and Kite seems to implicitly hate her…

4:07 PM

“What’s in the file?”

"It's the proof Edward Blythe was innocent, as well as the proof of who the real killer was. The detective who hid all this is also in there. It's a very useful file." The girl. Kite quickly moved towards her and grabbed the file, skimming it.

((I didn’t even catch that he’s named Blythe))

4:11 PM

Shawn tries to read it over his shoulder

The first thing of note is that the file names the detective in charge as Gus Amon. There's an image of him attached. The second thing of note is that the file contains several pieces of evidence that clearly point to the guilt of Carolyn Blythe. Not just general guilt, she very clearly murdered all of those people. All of the evidence that points to her is just an image of the actual evidence, but the pieces themselves(the ones in the images) are labelled Do Not Use In Trial. There's also an image of her attached. The third thing of note is an image of Carolyn tearing up the original pieces of evidence and flushing them down a toilet. Another image in this section is of Carolyn with Gus Amon, collaborating on an unknown effort. The final thing of note is several cases of murder throughout the years between 9 years ago and today, all of which are cold cases. These have no conclusive evidence, but are suggesting Carolyn is responsible. The most recent case, one consisting of a victim named Michelle, has an image taken of Carolyn breaking into the house.

((You can’t just name a character Gus Amon))

((Yes I fucking can))

4:22 PM

((I'm unstoppable))

4:24 PM

"Wh- What?" Kite.

"So..."

4:25 PM

"Carolyn Blythe. Is she the daughter of Edward Blythe?"

4:26 PM

"If that's the case... why was she working with the police to frame her father?"

4:27 PM

((carolyn being a Crazy Murderer is so fucking cool. White Woman Spotted (but now she will kill you for doing this)))

"To avoid jailtime for her crimes."

"Why would the police help her?"

4:32 PM

"I mean, cops suck usually, we know that first hand. But protecting a murderer?"

"They hated Edlightenment that much. That's all. Their goal was to do everything in their power to shut us down. ...And our parents paid for it. That's the kind of person Carolyn Blythe is." The Girl.

4:35 PM

"..." Kite gripped his crowbar tightly. "Where is she?" "Hm?" The Girl. "Carolyn Blythe! Where is she!?" Kite.

"I don't know anything about the Edlightment, or what sort of stuff it preaches, but..."

4:36 PM

"If theres someone out there who can murder people... A criminal who's unable to come to justice under the constraints of the law"

4:37 PM

"That's what we're here for. To stop that"

"Damn right, bro!" Kite. "So where is she?" "She's in her apartment with Detective Amon." The Girl. "Uh... Come on guys, you don't actually buy all this, right?" Ehn.

"I mean..."

4:38 PM

"Youve seen these photos, right?"

"Huh? Of course we do!" Kite. "Who are you talking to?" The girl. "Well yeah, but... You're probably being manipulated, right? She's just making you kill 2 people for her." Ehn. "Feels pretty sus to me at least." "Yeah, well you're a dog." Kite. "I'm not!" Ehn.

"He's got you there, Ehn"

4:42 PM

Oh, she can't see him. I think something similar happened when I first met Ehn. She should still be able to hear him tho

"Besides! I wanna believe! I wanna believe that my parents weren't wrong! Didn't you hear? I'm not alone! So I'm gonna avenge everyone like a real hero of justice, and go help the rest of these guys! You with me, bro?" Kite.

4:45 PM

"Ehn, you gave us these gifts to do justice, right? Is this not what justice is?"

"Oh, well... It's not like you can kill anyone, right? So this is just pointless." Ehn. "Are you calling me weak!? I can absolutely kill anyone I want! Just yesterday, I-" He paused. "Uh, well I was really awesome yesterday!"

yesterday

4:48 PM

that

4:48 PM

Shawn's breathing slowed for a second

4:48 PM

It's okay. It's in the past

"Look what you did to my bro! Now I'm gonna kill these guys twice as hard to make up for it! That's math!" Kite. "Shit." Ehn ran.

((can you send me the Bye Bitch rosalina image))

((I do not have that))

((fuck))

4:51 PM

((okay you know what it looks like. Imagine I posted that))

"Hey! Get back here!" Kite didn't pursue Ehn though. "Are you okay, bro?" The Girl is very confused.

"I'm all good."

4:52 PM

Shawn let his guard down, and his image cracked. He can't let that happen again

4:53 PM

"Ehn is right, on some level. How do we know we can trust you? We don't even really know who you are" (edited)

4:54 PM

"Last time we met, you shot me. Also you kidnapped Lelouch and Jade and i'm still not really sure how theyre related" (edited)

"Who is Jade?" The Girl.

"I'm pretty sure that was the other girl."

4:55 PM

"Whatever. The other person. What do they have to do with this?"

"Like I said, criminals." The Girl. "Come on, bro! Ehn's probably gonna do something to stop us! We gotta hurry!"

"What is Ehn going to do to stop us? Ehn is a dog."

"Maybe she'll warn them, I dunno! She's a dumb dog!"

"Who is them??? Okay whatever. How do we contact you?" Shawn says to the girl as he starts getting his stuff together

Kite groaned. "What's the address!?" The girl said the address.

"Uhhh"

4:59 PM

"Okay I guess"

4:59 PM

"We'll meet again tommorow?"

5:00 PM

"Or whenever. Sometime soon"

Kite just ran off towards the address. "Sure." The Girl.

"I thought we were"

5:01 PM

"Chasing Ehn"

5:01 PM

"What the hell is going on" Shawn says quietly, chasing after Kite

They arrived at an apartment building, and Kite ran inside.

Shawn followed

5:04 PM

"Kite, is this Blythe's house?"

5:06 PM

"We cant rush these things, man! Last time, it didnt"

5:07 PM

No, no. Not important right now. Don't think about it

Kite ran up the stairs. ((End session))

((“Wow this is a really interesting setup, tracking down Carolyn Blythe and confronting her is going to be so cool wait Kite what we’re doing this now hang on slow down what”))

((Kite is famously great at taking things slow))

((Exitied for Shawn to have his third ever dynamic with a pc))

Ehn/PC pinned a message to this channel. 9/24/2022 7:26 PM

I wonder if Carolyn’s big session is at all related to my Carolyn related session

8:54 PM

Her days are numbered

Does Mats Rumen (The Horror) count as a seperate character

((No. Why would he))

((i will make him one))

((Saturday))

((i found it))

Kite runs up the stairs screaming "CAROOOOLYYYYYNNNNN!"

Shawn rushes after him

2:02 PM

Shitshitshit

They arrived on the right floor. Carolyn’s door is open. Kite charges in, still boldly yelling.

is Carolyn there?

2:12 PM

Shawn kinda peeks tthrought the door

There’s a man on the floor, a large section of his head blown open. But there’s enough left to identify the body as Gus Amon. Ehn sits next to the body, smiling. No one else is in the apartment.

2:16 PM

"..."

2:17 PM

"Shit..." (edited)

2:17 PM

Another body...

2:18 PM

Shawn did his best to not focus on the body. The guy deserved it. He had it coming. Someone was going to do him in eventually.

2:18 PM

He looked at Kite

Kite stared at the body for a moment, before storming around the apartment looking for Carolyn. "Where is she!?" Ehn's malicious smile dissipated into sadness. "She’s gone. I was just avoiding more death."

"Did... did she kill him?"

2:24 PM

"Or was that you, Ehn"

2:24 PM

"Also, howd you get here"

"I ran." Ehn. "To betray us!" Kite. "Well, let’s not get technical." Ehn.

"Hey, cmon. We're all on the same side here, right?"

2:34 PM

"Someone died here. We should investigate"

"She did it!" Kite pointed at the ghost dog. "That’s literally impossible." Ehn.

"Calm down, Kite"

2:36 PM

"I don't think Ehn can even hold a gun"

2:36 PM

"Besides, there's only one person who could have done this. Blythe herself"

2:36 PM

"The question is: why?"

2:38 PM

There's a chance that if we stay here long enough, we might get caught by the cops. So... let's make this quick

"And she warned her!" Kite tries to kick Ehn, but his foot just goes through.

"Kite, calm down. Ehn is like translucent, remember"

2:43 PM

Shawn puts his hands on Kites shoulders

2:45 PM

"Ehn, are you working with Carolyn?"

"I just gave her a warning." Ehn. "And that warning let her get away! This is all your fault!" Kite. "Whoops!" Despite her sad expression, she doesn't sound like this affects her too deeply.

"But... why?"

2:53 PM

"She's not another one of your super-power-chosen folks is she?"

"Of course not." Ehn. "Liar!" Kite. "He's really getting way too heated about this. He should really step outside." Ehn couldn't hide the trace of smugness. "AAAAAGH!" Kite swung the crowbar at Ehn, only serving to break the floor under her.

"Kite!!!!!"

3:02 PM

"It's okay, man. Everythings gonna be fine"

3:02 PM

"Why are you here, Ehn? What do you want?"

Ehn leapt up onto a shelf. "Don't I want the same thing you do?" Kite swung the crowbar, demolishing the shelf and wall. Ehn moved onto another spot. "Sheesh, this guy's quicker to violence than a cop." Kite continued to destroy the room.

"Kite, please! You're destroying the crime scene!"

3:12 PM

"We're not going to be able to"

3:12 PM

"To find Carolyn"

Kite isn't listening.

Shit shit shit if this continues, we're not going to be able to do anything

3:28 PM

I...

3:34 PM

Shawn reaches out and grabs Kite by the arm, and pulls him towards Shawn

3:34 PM

"Kite..."

3:36 PM

"I know you're angry... But destroying Carolyn's house is just going to make things harder for us. Ignore Ehn. That thing doesn't matter"

((Roll))

(((9..)) (edited)

Kite doesn't notice him, and continues to wreck the apartment. Eventually, he gets tired and stops. Ehn continues to be perfectly unharmed.

...

3:46 PM

silently, Shawn said "goddamn it, Kite"

3:49 PM

Shawn didn't know how to feel. On one hand, he understood Kite. If he was in this situation, he would have done the same thing. Kite is simply taking out his anger on whatever he can find. On the other hand... this is the worst possible place to do that

Police sirens come into earshot.

are you fucking kidding me

3:50 PM

"Kite, we need to go, right now."

"No!" Kite. "I'm gonna make this stupid dog pay!" "I'm not a dog, I am Ehn!" Her expression returned to the sad frown. "Sorry, reflex. I mean I'm just as shocked as you are, you know! Also a victim here."

"Kite, listen to me. Listen to the words I'm trying to tell you."

3:53 PM

"We can't touch Ehn right now. You know that. Please stop making this worse"

3:54 PM

"If we don't leave literally right fucking now, we are never going to be able to get Carolyn. Are you hearing what I'm saying?"

3:55 PM

"I understand how you're feeling, I really do. And we will find Ehn, and Carolyn, and we're going to put a stop to all this. But right now, we need to go."

3:56 PM

Shawn motions to the fire escape

Kite gets back up and demolishes another wall for no reason. "You can't tell me what to do, bro! I'll figure it out!"

"Are you fucking kidding me, man? The police! They're outside!"

4:08 PM

"Please, man. Just listen to me"

"You listen to me! I'm in charge here! Just cause I didn't go all the way yesterday doesn't mean I'm not in charge! I say when we leave, and when we don't leave, you got that?" Kite.

Shawn is pissed now

4:21 PM

"Oh, you're in charge? You're the leader? You're sooooooooo on top of things? Where the hell were you yesterday, Kite? I made the worst mistake of my fucking life last night and at the first sign of conflict you fucking bailed on me! And now, I'm trying to make sure the same shit doesn't happen to you! Don't fucking lecture me about whos in charge"

Kite punches Shawn. It's a soft blow.

Shawn's face has the same emotion that like that one gif of Arthur closing his fist has

4:26 PM

Shawn punches kite back. Also softly

Kite shoves Shawn hard, and then runs for the fire exit.

Shawn follows behind

4:28 PM

before he leaves, he flips off Ehn

As soon as Kite arrives at the ground level, he takes off running.

Shawn also runs away in the same direction

Kite stopped. "Go away, Shawn!"

((are we like in an alleyway))

4:44 PM

((or like an open street))

((Open street))

((TRAgic))

4:48 PM

Shawn keeps running past Kite

"Yeah! Keep running!" Kite.

Shawn kept moving

4:50 PM

He turned to look at kite for a second (without stopping)

Kite is eventually out of sight.

Shawn keeps running. As fast and as hard as he can

4:52 PM

No real direction in mind

4:54 PM

He eventually stops, and ducks into an alley, hiding behind a dumpster

4:55 PM

He left Kite. Abandoned him, just like Kite abandond him yesterday. Is that fair?

4:55 PM

Shawn thought about Kite. How he has no idea where he went. How he could have gone back to the crime scene. How he might have permanently damaged thier friendship

4:56 PM

Who is Shawn Duveldt if Kite isn't there.

Shawn hears a cry for help from nearby. (edited)

Shawn suddenly perks up from his cocoon of self loathing and looks around

4:57 PM

Where did that come from?

A young woman is being mugged on the opposite end of the alley.

He didn't need Kite. He could be a hero, all by himself.

4:59 PM

Shawn secured his mask to his face. He got up, stood as tall as he could, and started walking towards the two

"Get back!" The mugger pointed his gun at Shawn.

Shawn kept walking closer

The mugger shot at Shawn in a panic, but this did nothing.

Hahaha, yes

5:04 PM

"Get out of here"

"Wh-What the hell!?" The mugger ran away.

Shawn smiles to himself

5:11 PM

"Are you okay, ma'am?"

"Yes, thank you. You're a real hero."

(edited)

5:17 PM

YES YES YES

5:17 PM

HUGE WIN

5:17 PM

Shawn is unbelieavly happy, but he doesn't move much, or show it through his mask.

5:18 PM

god this is so great. In your face you stupid fucking asshole. I win! I am the best!

She left.

((Incredibly meaningful encounter thank you atmey))

((A real gamechanger))

((idk where to take this lmfao))

5:26 PM

Shawn walked back the other way, down the alley. As he did, he thought about what had just happend. How he had actually saved someone. and he'd done it without Kite. He didn't even need him.

5:26 PM

Yeah, that's it.

5:29 PM

Every time things fuck up, it's always cause Kite can't get control of himself. He always gets so angry, and jumps ahead of everything. He refuses to listen. That's what made them fuck up the mission at the warehouse, that how Mats died, that's how this whole thing got screwed up. Hell, he's probably off somewhere messing things up right now...

5:29 PM

He's probably...

5:29 PM

Shawn started running back

5:30 PM

but like. Sneakier (edited)

Back in which direction?

The way he came, towards the building

5:31 PM

He stopped, all of a sudden

5:31 PM

pulled out his phone and called Kite

5:31 PM

went back into the alley of course

He didn't pick up.

Shawn called again

He didn't pick up.

Shawn did this a few more times

Kite never picked up.

Fuck. fuck

5:33 PM

I can't go back there. But. I can't leave him

5:33 PM

aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa

5:35 PM

Shawn collapsed on himself.

5:36 PM

Shawn sat down, hidden from view, and started thinking what Shawn would do next

5:36 PM

as he sat, he felt the mark where the bullet had hit him

5:37 PM

It didn't hurt, as always, but... nothing did. Nothing should, right?

5:38 PM

If shawn could stop that robber, he could help Kite. Get him out of whatever he's gotten himself ino

5:39 PM

Shawn started moving towards the crime scene

5:39 PM

(sneakily)

There’s a bunch of cops around the building.

Shawn looks around for Kite

No sign of him. But Lelouch and Jade are there.

What?

5:54 PM

Are they in earshot?

Shawn could choose to approach them.

Not in costume.

5:59 PM

The 2 girls approach a cop.

6:02 PM

Jade sprays a cop with perfume.

Shawn changes into his Normal clothes

6:04 PM

He walks to Lelouch

6:05 PM

God, should he even be doing this. Lelouch is the enemy, right. If Kite saw this...

6:05 PM

No, Shawn's a hero. He's the best. and he's here to save Kite. Talking to Lelouch is just another step in the Hero's Journey.

Shawn approaches Lelouch and Jade

6:14 PM

"Hey, guys"

Jade raises a bottle of perfume at Shawn.

wait fuck

6:14 PM

run that back hang on

6:14 PM

Shawn approaches Lelouch and Jade

6:14 PM

"Hey all, Shawn here"

Jade raises a bottle of perfume at Shawn.

((ldejsnwKSJAKSB))

Shawn puts his hands up like a gun is being pointed at him

Ehn/PC pinned a message to this channel. 10/1/2022 6:15 PM

((Lelouch thoughts mhmm)) Damn it, why does everyone keep running into us at the worst time. We can't have anyone we know see us here. Sorry but not sorry Shawn. Lelouch nodded at Jade.

Jade sprayed Shawn.

Shawn is now deeply in love with Jade Lamperouge. This transcends actual sexual attraction, but you now think she is the greatest person in the world and would do absolutely anything she asks. This includes bafflingly impossible requests like forgetting information purposely or murdering someone. Your attraction does not physically manifest in your personality for fear of making her uncomfortable, and you generally act the same way you would normally outside of Jade's requests. You cannot tell Jade or anyone else the phenomenon that makes you act like this, even if they ask, and must feel that this is completely genuine. When this wears off, you will remember everything you have not been asked to forget and be able to react to how fucked up and disturbing that was. ((I will tell you when it wears off.)) (edited)

6:21 PM

"Hey, Shawn

" Did it work??

Oh my god. Shes here. Oh shit. what do I say oh no

Lelouch is still

ing.

"h-hi lelocuch"

6:29 PM

"and j-jade"

6:30 PM

((god i cant fucking type))

((THATS ME LELOCUCH))

"Follow every command given to you by Ms. Lelouch." Jade.

Shes so hot

((ndjsbJSKSNSOSBOSBAVJWVWIBWOB))

6:31 PM

((AOBABISISBIBISBOWBWBOSH))

How come i never noticed that before

((SNSKWNNEEBEEBBWHWB WBnaba)

6:31 PM

((i am shawn's NUMBER ONE fan))

((i hate you so much))

6:31 PM

"W-what do you guys want?"

((this is my new favorite character joke holy shit this is amazing))

"Why are you here?"

6:32 PM

god damn. Holy shit

"We were just asking this man some questions about the uh. That. Lelouch motions to the coroner." Damnitdamnit did it not work. He seems to be acting normally. Well, was he always that... jittery? What do you call it when people fumble over words..... (edited)

6:34 PM

"Um. This is a weird question but can you go over there on the other side of the road for a second and jump 3 times."

"Totally."

6:35 PM

Shawn does that

Oh no, maybe this just works differently for each person. Odd that everyone else seemed to be less energized though. (edited)

6:36 PM

"Hey Shawn, do you think you can do us a favor?"

Shawn yells from across the street "Have you guys seen Kite?"

6:36 PM

"Oh, yeah, totally. Whatever you wanttttt"

"Can you come back over here??" Lelouch whisper-shouted.

Shawn comes back over there

Lelouch ignores the question about Kite and whispers to Shawn. "I need you to go to my apartment and write a card for Shuichi. Just write a generic calling card, like the ones thieves use y'know? Leave it on the counter where he'll see it when he walks in. Don't tell anyone else about this, and if Shuichi sees you go jump out of a window or something. Can you do that for me?"

6:40 PM

"Definitely don't tell anyone else I said this to you."

"Yeah totally."

6:41 PM

"Where's your appartment?"

6:44 PM

Whatever Lelouch tells Shawn where her appartment is and Shawn goes there

This happens

(( https://discord.com/channels/959192904184778753/979766073081622618/1025901982688481370 )) (edited)

Channel split?

((yeah))

Lelouch and Jade are with a cop.

"Mr. Cop, make sure you don't tell anyone what you just heard either."

"Understood." The cop.

Lelouch took her phone out. "Give me your number."

He did so.

Lelouch then dmed Shawn.

While Shawn was in that area, he didn't see Kite anywhere, right?

He did not.

Ok awesome(thank god)

6:48 PM

Shawn heads to Lelouch's appartment

It is the penthouse.

Is the door locked

Yes.

Hmm

6:51 PM

((IS it okay if i dont follow her literally word for word. like instead of "leave it on the counter" i leave it just someplace he'll se it))

((No))

Shawn opens his backpack and takes out a piece of paper. He doesn't exactly have a card on him, but this should be good enough, right? I mean, as long as it sends a message. Shawn doesn't really know why Shuichi would need a calling card, so he isn't sure what to write. He decides instead to write word-for-word the first calling card from Masqeurade V, but instead of the pedo teacher, he switches it for Shuichi Maoziwam

((sorry i cant remember in the past what format lelouch would message shawn in)) Lelouch: Text me when you're finished.

Shawn: I'm at your house, and I got the card, but I'm not sure how I'm supposed to get it onto his counter.

6:54 PM

Shawn: Do you guys have like a door code or something?

Lelouch: Its fine, leave it on the doormat.

Shawn: Gotcha

Lelouch: Send me a picture of the card too. Both the outside and the inside.

Shawn sends Lelouch pictures. It is a piece of lined paper that has been cresed down the middle. On the inside, the words "Sir Shuichi Maoziwam, the utter bastard of lust. We know how shitty you are, and that you put your twisted desires on students that can't fight back. That's why we have decided to steal away those desires and make you confess your sins. This will be done tomorrow, so we hope you will be ready. From, the Masquerade Thieves" are written

6:58 PM

Shawn: Not really the best quality, but I don't really carry cards with me

((SOOOO TRUE))

6:59 PM

Lelouch: Students...? You know, he's probably been shitty to them somehow. I wouldn't be surprised. (edited)

Shawn: what was that stuff you sprayed me with anyway?

7:02 PM

Or the stuff Jade did. Whatever

Lelouch ignores Shawn's question. Lelouch: Once you leave, act as you have before today. Still follow these three things though: 1. Do not mention meeting me and Jade today 2. Do not mention the perfume or being sprayed 3. Do not do what I say in the future unless I precede it with "What are your thoughts on cereal?" I'm going to delete these texts. Make sure to commit this to memory.

Shawn: Gotcha

7:04 PM

Shawn: BTW while we're talking, let me know if you see Kite anywhere

Lelouch: Of course.

Shawn is taking screenshots of the text conversation

6:56 PM

what the fuck

7:00 PM

Shawn has left it on the doormat and is now heading towards the elevator

7:02 PM

Shawn is still taking screenshots.

7:05 PM

Shawn heads home. He's tired

7:08 PM

((btw))

7:08 PM

(("dont follow my orders again until i say "what are your thoughts on cereal"))

7:09 PM

((is that still in place even after the effect wears off?))

((no))

((ok good lmfao))

7:10 PM

Shawn calls Kite again

He doesn't pick up.

Before Shawn goes home, he heads to the alley where he met with Ehn this morning, to see if The Girl is still ther

7:11 PM

just in case

7:12 PM

(( i am also assuming that when lelouch says the word Mention, she means like physically talk about, right? Can i still show people the screenshots))

((They apply the way Shawn understands them))

((ok awesome))

7:14 PM

Is anyone at the alleyway

No.

"Ehn?"

7:17 PM

While Shawn is here, he suddenly remembers something

7:18 PM

"Sometimes the law is not enough to punish criminals. Sometimes the law does nothing but help criminals. You two agree, don't you?" "Like I said, criminals."

7:19 PM

Shawn trusted Lelouch and Jade with his life, and he loved them so much he'd do anything for them... but

7:19 PM

What were they doing there?

7:20 PM

Shawn initially assumed that they were friendly, but they might not actually be. Maybe they were there to cover up Gus's death

7:20 PM

Still, Shawn couldn't tell them that. While he trusted them with all his heart... he didnt trust them at all. Nothing added up

Shawn Duveldt started a thread. 10/1/2022 7:21 PM

Shawn googled the New Edlightenment

7:22 PM

if they had a location, he should go there

7:23 PM

That Girl, she deserved to know about this

No results.

7:23 PM

Well, no results beyond the original Edlightenment.

While shawn walked home, he did some reaserch on them.

What part of them?

Their history

7:25 PM

and more about the Blythe family

7:25 PM

also, he tried to find any connection between the Blythes and the Maoziwams

((Roll))

Edward Blythe poisoned his entire cult to death, outside of his daughter, Carolyn Blythe. Then he was arrested. There's not much new here.

Damn. Shawn heads home

Shawn arrived home. His parents are busy.

((Is it okay if I end here do you have anything more planned))

((We can end here))

Actually

7:33 PM

What time is it

It's late.

what time late!!

I dunno!!!! Like 10PM sure

7:43 PM

Shawn goes to bed

The chapter ends.

((I ended the chapter purely because I was suffering intense misery. Please don’t make me suffer more because of this. My actions have had enough consequences))

7:51 PM

((I feel insurmountable miserynidk how the fuck I’m going to recover from this))

((Are you okay?))

((I’m fine I’m just extremely sad))

8:01 PM

((Sorry I’m acting like this this is just like. The most viscerally a media has affected me))

((Sorry about that))

((It’s PROBABLY a good thing))

((You can now understand Lelouch route discourse a bit))

((I despite Lelouch Maoziwam (human) but she’s a good character I don’t get bloop))

I have a bit of time can i un-end his session

8:47 PM

briefly

((Sure))

Shawn can't sleep. This is all too confusing

8:48 PM

He goes on his computer and starts reaerching everything he can, as hard as he can. the New Edlightemnent didnt turn up results before, but he kept looking

8:50 PM

Every lead he'd found. Everything he could about Shuichi. Everything about Lelouch. About Carolyn Blythe. He started going into his other leads, too. A man in a white suit named Jay. Sam Kidink. Elusive Sentasaurus. Jackson Day

8:50 PM

Ray Elliot. Where is he

8:51 PM

((fuck fuck))

8:51 PM

((can i reroll because im doing it SO hard))

Shawn blocks Lelouchs number.

((You can reroll, yes))

what the fuck

9:08 PM

I hate my life

Shawn is too tired to get any meaningful research done tonight.

Shawn breaks down crying

9:10 PM

god damn it god damn it god damn it god damn it god damn it god damn it god damn it god god damn it it god damn it god damn it

9:11 PM

I’m a fucking worthless sack of shit I can’t do fucking anything right

9:11 PM

aaaaaaaaaaAAAAAAAAA

Shawn Duveldt

Shawn blocks Lelouchs number.

((To be clear, the Jade love has not dissipated yet))

((WHERE in the rules does it say that Shawn can’t do this))

((It doesn't, I just wanted to avoid confusion))

((Oh ok.))

9:14 PM

((The thing trying to do is like Because the disgust Shawn feels is so incredibly awful (and also wasn’t restricted by any of Jades commandments) he feels horrible and does things but just doesn’t understand why he’s doing that))

9:16 PM

I can’t save Kite. I can’t stop Carolyn. I can’t even fucking

9:16 PM

aaaaaaa

9:17 PM

There has never been anyone in the history of the human race more pathetic then Shawn Duveldt. He is the dictionary definition of pathetic.

9:18 PM

Maybe not even in the human race. If you had a genie and told the genie “i wish to see the most pathetic object that is able to physically exist in our reality or any other reality that operates under different rules” the genie would just direct you to Shawns house (edited)

9:21 PM

In every conceivable way, Shawn was a failure. He couldn’t protect anyone, anyone who mattered, really. And now what. He’s stuck at home. His friends are out somewhere and he has no idea where. They could be dead. They could be hurt. Kite could be dying

9:21 PM

But Shawn couldn’t set foot out of this room. Because he was too scared. He’s a fucking pussy bitch idiot

9:22 PM

Selfish, too. I didn’t add that before. He’s the most selfish person to ever conceivably exist

9:22 PM

Shawn continued to monologue like this to himself until midnight

The chapter ends.

Lelouch then dmed Shawn.

6:54 PM

((i thought i sent that before oops))

6:57 PM

"I'm having Shawn send me the card contents. I want to make sure we replicate it correctly in case we need to do this again." Lelouch said this to Jade.

She nodded.

7:01 PM

Lelouch showed Jade the messages she sent Shawn. "So we're on the same page. I know if Shawn acts differently Kite will probably catch on and blame it on me as always. It's better to have him as backup like we did today."

"Good idea, Ms. Lelouch."

Lelouch deleted the messages. Doug Jones (Discord) doesn't do that though for obvious reasons.

7:13 PM

"Mr. Cop. If I text you, I want you to do exactly as I say. I'll message you right now so you know it's my number." Lelouch texts the cop "It's me, the person in front of you. Might as well hide my name on their phone in case someone sees it. (edited)

He nods.

"Well I believe that's everything we needed to do, Jade? It's nice that we don't have to worry about Gus interfering anymore, though we'll need to find a taxi driver to spray sometime for transportation..."

Lelouch Maoziwam started a thread. 10/1/2022 7:20 PM

Lelouch checked her notifications when her phone buzzed to see if it was Shawn (it wasn't) (it was Kite) (( https://discord.com/channels/959192904184778753/969222165029335060/1025908638524645509 )) (edited)

callmekite: youre never getting one

7:14 PM

callmekite: pathetic loser

7:14 PM

callmekite: no one loves you Lo1!!!!!!

7:15 PM

callmekite: youre probably dead rn

7:15 PM

callmekite: people would clap for that

7:15 PM

callmekite: you should kill yourself to test it

7:16 PM

callmekite: itll work trust me

7:19 PM

callmekite: no response? I bet youre crying rn. Lol!!!!!!

7:19 PM

callmekite: it must suck so much to be as much of a loser as you

7:20 PM

callmekite: i wouldnt know. im awesome

MaoMao: I have a gf

7:21 PM

callmekite: liar

7:22 PM

callmekite: your literally a girl. Lol!!!!!

MaoMao: https://tenor.com/view/anime-girl-dance-anime-dance-cry-about-it-gif-25138217 (edited)

callmekite: i wouldnt cry because of you. Lol!!!!!!!!!

7:24 PM

callmekite: im laughing so hard at you rn. Lol!!!!!!!!

MaoMao: Too busy rn. Ttyl

7:24 PM

7:25 PM

MaoMao: Me and my gf by the way

7:25 PM

MaoMao: We do this (( https://discord.com/channels/959192904184778753/979766073081622618/1025911450402824312 )) (edited)

callmekite: those are anime characters. Not real!!!!!!

7:26 PM

callmekite: i know how to separate anime from real life because i really am that awesome in real life

7:26 PM

callmekite: i caught so many criminals today. you have no idea

7:32 PM

callmekite: im the greatest hero that ever lived

7:33 PM

callmekite: you? Youre a villain

7:33 PM

callmekite: also gay

7:35 PM

callmekite: that makes you double the villain

7:35 PM

callmekite: im gonna lock you away for life and make sure you never hurt anyone again

7:35 PM

callmekite: and ill do it effortlessly. Because im a hero

7:35 PM

callmekite: lol!!!!!!

7:37 PM

@MaoMao has been suspended.

((LMAO))

Sean awoke in the car.

Indeed. I try to sort out things that happened so far and make a plan for today. I realise I ended up not searching that man's identity, since I was interrupted by him personally coming to my room, so I reverse image search his photo now.

((Roll))

(15

This man’s name is Gus Amon. He used to be a detective 9 years ago but was fired unceremoniously a little after the Edlightenment mass murder. He is currently employed by Shuichi Maoziwam as a butler.

If this information about the police conspiracies and talking dogs got to the right people - something with a large enough number of readers and not too easily silenced by the government, this would be huge. And if I managed to give myself a seemingly important role in all that, my name would be remembered for quite a while. But Maoziwam, huh. This complicates things. If it was just some group that no one knows there would be no problem, but with a popular name like Maoziwam in all this the media would primarily focus on him. This definitely complicates things, but, hm. I'll think of something.

12:54 PM

I check the news and update my statistics sheet. Also paying attention to how much can be found on the yesterday's incident at Blythe's office.

Yesterday was a very busy day for crime. Someone broke into (the bank you keep your money in) but no money was reported missing so it looks like they just broke in for no reason. Someone stole a large amount of money from Shuichi Maoziwam and was beaten to death by an unknown machine, before being dumped in an alleyway. A bunch of people got stabbed by homeless people who claimed to be working in the name of The Fungus. These articles are being used to push for more anti-homeless legislation. There was a shootout at Kerloe Fishery a little after midnight yesterday. Authorities are looking for a culprit they claim was wearing a dinosaur costume. There was a shootout at the mall. And finally the shootout you experienced. These are listed in order of how many articles were made about them, with your shootout at the bottom. (edited)

beaten to death by an unknown machine

((How do they know it was done by "an unknown machine" and not by some other method))

((The body is destroyed too much to be physically possible for a human to do it))

That's a lot of crimes. I wonder how many of these are connected to the things I'm experiencing. "Dog. N, or whatever your name is. Uh, I don't know how sound works for ghost dogs, but if you somehow hear this, come here. I want to talk." I have no idea how efficient this will be. If it wasn't that dog, this would obviously not work, but with it I have no idea which laws of physics are still applicable. Maybe I really just hallucinated that dog because of stress and wounds? No, that can't be. There wouldn't be any way to explain the car I'm in otherwise.

Nothing resembling a response from the dog, I guess?

There is no response from the dog.

Yeah. I remember/look up online anyone located in AG watched by a relatively large number of people. Local media, maybe youtubers, or anyone similar.

Frederick Wight is the host of FNN(Free News Network) which is the largest media corporation with its main offices in Avengard. They’re watched pretty much internationally because their politics are just parroting Belto Shelk support.

I see. What about anything on a smaller scale? Like a popular blog run by one or two people. Someone who could be easier to convince or threaten to say what I want than an entire media corporation. (edited)

There’s a group of 9 YouTubers called Team Nine who live in this city.

What kind of content do they make?

There’s a lot of variety. But the appeal seems to be mostly shitty YouTube pranks but in completely incomprehensible forms. The kind of thing where the joke lies more in the fact that someone thought this was a good idea than the execution itself. Sometimes they cooperate with another YouTuber called The Elusive Sentasaurus but these videos do much worse.

Is there more specific information on their location? Where any of them live, or their studio or anything like that.

Most of their pranks take place in the big park in the middle of Avengard. Nothing else is really known.

Is there at least any contact information available? Preferably a way that doesn't let anyone else see my messages (something more similar to e-mail than to youtube comments), and preferably a way to contact only one of them rather than the entire team.

Jackson Day(the leader of the group) has a public email for business inquiries.

Subject: A proposal Mr. Day, I might have an interesting proposal for your channel. I am still very unsure about certain details, so before I promise anything specific I'd like to discuss it in person, but I can guarantee that if it works out I'll pay you good money. Where and when would you like to meet to discuss this? Any time is fine for me, as long as we do it today. Again, since I'm really not sure about it, I'd prefer if you didn't tell to other members of your team (and naturally, any other people as well) about it until we come to a conclusion. -Former CEO of Leading Image Blender, -S. Niebel

I send it.

3:00 PM

For now, I decide to experiment with my keys some more. They can unlock doors, but can they lock them back? I get out of the car, keep the door open and touch it with the keys.

The door shuts and locks.

I detach one key from the bundle and touch the door with it.

Nothing happens.

I attach the key back and touch the door again with that key specifically.

The door opens.

So I can't split up the keys. That's unfortunate. Having two functioning bundles would be much safer. As I think about other things to check, I realise I haven't eaten anything today yet, so I drive home. I'd also like to change into clothes that don't have a bullet hole in them. To make sure no more weird people are waiting for me there, I at first drive past my house without stopping, watching out for any unexpected cars parked nearby or any other signs of intruders.

One of the attackers is in your lawn with a gun.

That is unfortunate. I just drive past my house then and stop in some other part of the city in a place where I can buy food. There I buy enough food for myself for today, then take it with me and drive back to some empty place outside of the city.

Sean has no money.

I realise the lack of money only when I arrive at the store. I go back to the car and think about it. This is a problem. It's been years since I last thought of my money as a limited resource. I suppose I'll have to keep track of it now. In recent years, it was more of a binary value. There are things I can buy as much as I need them, and absurdly expensive things that I do not have enough money to buy. So, money. Hm. I think I might have some more at home, but that isn't really an option right now. The other ideas are waiting for the bank to fix the problem, borrowing from someone and illegal methods. Yes, I should at least try to contact the bank, I think. I drive to a part of the city where not a lot of people are right now and call the bank.

"Welcome to Avengard Bank, how may we help you today?" They picked up.

"Money was stolen from my account."

"You’d like to take back a transaction then?"

"It does not display it as a transaction. But if you look at my transaction history, you'll see it doesn't add up to 0$ my account says I have."

"Alright, I’ll connect you to a professional to help you. Please hold." Shitty elevator music begins playing.

Sure, I wait.

This takes a full hour before they finally pick up. "Hi, Avengard Bank, how can I help you?" (edited)

"Money stolen. Does not appear in the transaction history."

“And what is the account number?"

I tell them the account number.

"And your name is?"

"Sean Niebel."

"Alright, Mr. Niebel. To make sure it’s you accessing your account, I’m just going to have to ask you your security questions, is that alright?"

"Of course."

"What was your mother's maiden name?"

"Give me a second." Still staying on the call, I look up on internet if the bank is supposed to ask me these security questions.

Of course. ((I'm just squeezing out characterization in the dumbest possible ways))

And I'm just being extremely careful since I have no idea who I can trust. "Field."

"What was the first name of your childhood best friend?"

What did I put in this one? Oh right. "Paul." When was the last time we talked? It's been around 20 years ago by now, I think. I've been too busy here at Leading Image, and keeping contact with him wasn't beneficial to me. His job is...a teacher, I think? Yes, something worthless like that.

"What is the first name of your current romantic partner?"

Yale? No, wait, when did I set this? It's not Yale. I'm sure I set this before I met Yale. There was some trick here, I put as the answer something unrelated to the actual question. What was it? "Max." Right, I put the name of my grandparents' dog here. The... what is that breed called? The big dog. When I was a child, they had this big old dog. I always liked him. He was... how do I put it... Eh, who cares. Why am I remembering all this just from a security question, anyway? Though, I guess my father's parents were the only two decent people in this entire family.

"Alright thank you. So you were looking for missing money, correct?"

"Yes."

"Do you know how much went missing exactly?"

"No, I don't pay that much attention. But it should be something around [estimate]"

"And when did this go missing?"

((when was the last time i saw i had any money/successfully paid for anything with a card?))

((Idk))

"I noticed it yesterday, but I don't think I checked the day before. I definitely still had money on Tuesday, though."

"Alright. And you’re sure this went missing?"

"Yes."

"Alright, we’ll look into this."

"I still need money right now. Can you give me a small loan or something until you fix my account?"

((leaving for today))

((Alright, bye))

((Saturday))

"A loan?"

"Or anything similar. I need money and I don't have any."

"Have you tried using your credit car- Oh it says here you deactivated it. Do you need a new one?"

"Sure."

"Alright, it'll be in the mail. You'll receive it within 5 business days."

"I said I need money right now. Today. Do you have anything that would not take multiple days?" (edited)

Long pause. "No."

I hang up. I suppose I'll have to borrow from someone. Perhaps Carl? Not a person I want to talk to, and not guaranteed that he would agree, but what other options do I have? An idea to ask my family comes for an instant, but I quickly drive it away. No. I won't owe anything to them. I call Carl.

Harriet Kadin picks up the call. ((Pause for a bit because Song has not gotten online yet))

Harriet woke up in her bed the next day.

((like i said, i've never done this before, so please lemme know if i'm fucking things up))

2:02 PM

She's not sure how to start the day, exactly, other than eating breakfast and all that. She decides to check her email and messages to see if Sarah's contacted her since yesterday.

She has not. Carl has responded, however.

She checks his message.

'approved' That’s all the email says.

((sorry, wasnt the one she emailed tucker?))

((Carl Tucker is his full name))

((i am a fucking idiot))

((Deeply curious who you thought Carl was))

((i dunno!!! just my buddy carl..))

2:16 PM

She shoots off a quick thumbs up in response, trying not to be irritated at his lack of response. After that, she tests the air, trying to ascertain if she and Corpse Husband were still on good terms. "Are you there?" Harriet asks, hoping for some kind of physical confirmation.

It appears.

Harriet exhales a sigh of relief. Good. He'll be useful. She should probably get to work and see what's going on at the office.

If I am to read this as an implication Harriet went to the office, she arrived now.

((sorry that was the implication yes))

2:44 PM

She wonders.. "Corpse Husband, would you get me a coffee from the break room?"

Corpse Husband vanishes for a moment, before returning with the Harriet's preferred kind of coffee. To be clear, Harriet is currently in the parking lot, she has not entered the building itself yet.

She asks him - "Corpse Husband, was the.. door unlocked? Like, can you travel through walls?"

Corpse Husband indicates that as a ghost it can go through walls.

"But you can still hold objects? Can you make yourself tangible and intangible at will?"

It nods.

She notes that information for later, then wheels herself into her building, to the elevator and onto her floor.

Harriet arrived at the CEO's floor. An impromptu desk has been set up in front of Carl's office.

"Is this... supposed to be my desk?" She wonders aloud.

Carl's office doors open, and out steps the man himself. "Oh, you're here." He clears his throat, before putting on a really pathetic 'deep' voice. "Great."

She suppresses the tinge of irritation she immediately gets whenever she sees him, although she feels more on edge than usual today. "So... what's the plan?" She says awkwardly.

"Yeah, plans and stuff... I got so many, it's like unreal. I'm all planned out for like, life. For you though, you can just like... Sit there. Like wheelchair people do. Maybe up the makeup, smile more.. The drill, you know? Makes me look more respectable if the guys dig you, you know? Like... 'Wow, he's got hot chicks all around and he's to cool o go for them? What a hero!' Not that I..." He flashes the most overpracticed smile ever. "Aren't already the coolest one. All responsible, and not getting drunk on work hours. Like the best bosses do." Carl's breath reeks of alcohol.

Harriet smiles at him, her body shaking slightly from the strain of maintaining the farce. "Coool. Cool cool cool cool cool. Well. I'm so glad you're so.. responsible. And paternalistic," she says. (edited)

"Yeah, yeah. Patterns and shit. Good one. I'm real cool." He clears his throat, and readjusts his shirt. "Could you repeat that? The compliment. I've just uh... Heard it so much, as like a great boss, that I don't really like perceive it until it's said twice."

She wonders if he's getting off on this. "You're so cooool," she says between gritted teeth. (edited)

"Yeah... Yeah, thanks. Well, uh... I'll be in my office and stuff."

She really wishes he was dead. Or she was dead. Or someone in this equation/conversation/office was dead. She waits for him to go back to his office before saying what she wants to.

Carl enters his office.

She sighs, muscles in her back relaxing, before whispering - "Corpse Husband, do you think you could throw that coffee from before at him?"

Corpse Husband enters the office. A second later, Carl lets out a scream of pain.

3:58 PM

The phone rings.

Harriet grins. "Nice." Harriet wonders if enjoying that makes her a bad person. I mean. Carl sucks, to be sure. Is kind of objectively the worst. But is it in breach of some social contract with herself, to enjoy someone else's suffering like that? Does it make her a mysteriously different person than she was several days ago, by some greater cosmic joke? Although obviously that would never happen. Whatever. She startles at the sound of the phone. Picks it up. "Hello? This is Leading Image Blender Incorporated. How may we help you?" (edited)

It's Sean Niebel.

"Carl."

"Uh.. this is Harriet Kadin. Do you need Carl for something?"

"Yes."

"Uh.. okay. I'll connect you with him in a second." Harriet knocks on Carl's door.

She returns to the phone and says, apologetically, "He says he's busy."

"When can I call him, then?"

"Uh... Give me a second to check."

4:28 PM

"He says February 32nd."

"Is he drunk again?"

"Uhh... he says no. Quite emphatically."

"What is he even doing? Why do you have his phone?"

"You called the office, not his personal phone... I was just near it when it rang, is all?"

"I have not yet forgotten what phone I am calling. What are you trying to accomplish with this lie?"

"I swear to god, you called the work phone."

"Stop joking or I'm hanging up. I guess you haven't actually talked to Carl either?"

I check which number I am currently calling.

It's Carl's personal phone.

5:02 PM

Carl responds on the phone. "Who is this?"

"Me."

"Oh, boss!" He clears his throat. "I mean... Person that I know from outside of work."

"My bank account is malfunctioning and they say it will take a few days to fix. So lend me some money."

((End session sorry. This will truly go down in history as the best Sean chapter))

5:14 PM

((We will reach the planned content of this chapter in 2050))

((Saturday. I’ve asked onnie about the possibility of a makeup session though, I’ll let you know if anything comes of that))

"Oh, uh. Sure. How much?"

How much would I need? I'm not sure. "Let's say 5000$. Will return in 10 days with 10% interest."

"Yeah, sure. Yeah. Sending it."

"Thanks. Yes, and do something about that secretary of yours. She claimed you didn't want to talk to me."

"Oh, uh. Just tell her it’s you next time."

"Mhm." Unless he has anything else to say, I hang up. Then I check if the money actually arrived in my account.

The money's there.

I proceed with my original plan to buy food. I also withdraw half of the money to have cash in case this happens again. After that I check the time. How long has it been since I contacted that youtuber?

It’s been about 2 hours.

It's possible he simply hasn't seen my e-mail yet. No need to hurry. Now, about the keys. The only way I can describe things they can do is 'things that normal keys can do, but better', but that is very vague, and I have no idea if there are any specific use cases or limitations I don't know about. If the dog was here... Actually, does it even know itself what they do? In any case, the keys... Wait, is it even right to say it's the keys? If I detach them from the keyring, they stop working. Then what if I attached something that isn't a key to the ring? Would it do 'things it can do, but better'? Or would it work like a key? This might be worth checking. I go to a convenience store and if they sell these small flashlights on a chain which aren't useful for anything more than searching for the right key in the dark, buy one.

The flashlight is purchased.

I leave the store and go back to the car. I attach the flashlight to the keychain and touch the door of the car with it.

Nothing.

I point the flashlight to the ground, look away and turn it on. The keys made the doors open with a lot of force, so if the pattern is the same the light might be really bright. Or maybe it just won't work with things that aren't keys at all. (edited)

It works normally.

Disappointing. It seems it really is just keys then. I'll still keep the flashlight attached since it might be useful. Then I will focus on Day for now, as I originally planned. But I don't want to stay in one place for too long so before that I again drive to a different part of the city. This city is large, now that I think about it. I haven't stopped at the same place even once so far. Though, that doesn't make it any more remarkable, it's still the same effectively identical buildings everywhere. No, that's not the right way to put it either. It doesn't matter what they look like. I've never understood architecture as art. Looking at any unusual or old buildings never made me feel more emotions than 'It seems this is also a way to construct a building'. Even if they all were different shapes and colors they would still be the same normal houses with normal people and normal offices of normal companies and normal stores selling normal things. They could construct an entire new district and it wouldn't be any more remarkable than any of the existing ones. I think about that one triangular building, but can't remember its name and give up on this line of thought. I know what I mean and don't care enough to put it into words. It's not like anyone is listening to this or I ever plan to tell this to anyone. Even if someone was listening they wouldn't really care about an opinion that basically amounts to 'architecture isn't interesting'. Very interesting opinion. I know. (edited)

5:20 PM

After wasting some time driving and thinking about the buildings I decide to check Day's situation again, since I don't have any other plans. Has he posted anything online today? On the Youtube channel or anywhere else.

Nothing.

Is this normal for him? I've been under the impression that these kinds of people try to post as frequently as they can, at least in places like Twitter.

This seems to be a correct impression.

((so he is unusually silent today?))

((Yes))

Has this started only today or he's been silent for multiple days?

The past few days are definitely less active than usual, but today is completely silent.

Why did it have to happen today, of all days? This was the one idea I had that could actually work. I try to search for anything about his disappearance (why it happened, when he'll be back) online. He probably mentioned it in one of his videos, but I'm not going to watch them just for it.

News from 1 minute ago, there has been a shootout in the Team Nine headquarters.

I quickly read it. Does it say anything else? Also, if there is any description/photo of the attackers, are they similar to the ones I encountered at Blythe's office?

There's not too many details. They don't even know the total of dead or injured. It's just reporting on sounds of gunfire and police blocking off the area.

5:43 PM

A car suddenly crashes into Sean's. ((Roll))

(16)

Sean is in pain, but still fully conscious.

I try to grasp the situation around me. Could I control the car in this state? Where did the other car come from, what does it look like and what is it doing now?

The car is badly broken. The other car is being driven by one of the men who attacked Sean yesterday. It also seems pretty broken.

Is there only one person in it?

Only 1 person.

How hurt are they after the crash?

They seem to be losing consciousness.

I make sure to take everything I had in the car including the gun, get out and go to the other car. I open the door (if it's locked from the inside - unlock with the keys) and point the gun at the person of unspecified gender. "Who are you?"

They groan.

"I can't understand. Say it clearly." This is probably useless.

((Roll))

(16)

They tell you a name.

"I don't care about your name. Who told you to do this? Who are you working for?"

"Can't tell you."

"Do you want to die here?"

He panics. "Grizz Soniaquill."

"Don't try to lie. Who is it really?"

"That's what he went by!"

"There is no way their name is Soniaquill. For the last time, tell me who it actually is."

"It's probably a pseudonym or something! I don't know!"

"Do you know anything else?"

"Uhh... I could take you to him! I know where he lives!"

"Tell me."

"Shelk. He lives in Shelk."

"Where exactly?"

He gives an address.

"Stop lying." I shoot him, aiming for the shoulder.

((Roll))

(Seven.)

It hits without doing too much damage. "It's true! That's his address!"

6:28 PM

There are several of the gunmen running towards Sean from down the street.

Are there any cars I could drive nearby?

There are cars parked around the street.

I get into one of them and drive not to a specific place, but just away from these people.

Sean escapes.

What do they want from me? Is this revenge? Is this because of the dog? Is this in the name of 'justice'? Were they behind everything, from the accusations on Monday? I didn't do anything wrong. Whenever I've beaten someone, it was entirely within the rules. It was their fault they lost. I didn't do anything. Who is this so-called Grizz? I stop the car to gather my thoughts. Do I have any wounds requiring medical attention?

None.

I look up the name 'Grizz Soniaquill' online. Probably a fake name, but still worth a try.

This brings you to the twitter account by that name.

(( -does grizz have a profile picture -are bob smith's replies noticeable and would sean recognize the account he is using as sentasaurus the youtuber -are the monday sean niebel posts the last thing he posted? -is it just "i love fishing i hate belto shelk" normally? -has it been posting about fishing and whatever for months/years or its a new account with nothing but the messages directly listed in the thread ))

((

Grizz's pfp is the classic image of Grizz Soniaquill
That’s just Sent being sent, ignore it
Grizz briefly tweeted about how much Carl Tucker sucked on Wednesday. Also a bunch of general fishing and Belto hate posts.
yes
It’s months old

))

After scrolling through the account, I am not sure what to think. He is too... normal, I guess? I would except to find either nothing at all or someone way more extreme. Is this really the person who hired these attackers? Though, I guess if someone like him somehow managed to hire a bunch of criminals, he does seem to be stupid enough to contact them under his real name and even reveal the address. And he was involved in that Monday twitter thing, but that might be a coincidence as well. The culprit might just be using this name. I look up the address. Does the building I can see there through Google Street View or similar tools appear in his twitter photos?

The address points to a mansion in Shelk. The owner's name is public information.

What is the owner's name.

Ouroboros Stanley.

((the man called ouroboros stanley from tuesday did not resemble grizz's photo, right?))

((There is no similarity))

((going to sleep now actually. sorry))

((Bye))

((Saturday))

This owner’s name is Ouroboros Stanley.

That man? Yes, that makes much more sense. He came to my house on Tuesday and rambled something incoherent about Leading Image and Italian food, if I remember correctly. If I listened to him back then I probably would've been dead by now. Or, maybe he is just being used? They used that fisherman's name and arranged the meeting around this Ouroboros's house. Also a possibility. I move to a different car since the attackers have seen me use this one, and call Ouroboros's phone.

It’s a young girl's voice. "…Lelouch?"

"Give the phone to Ouroboros."

She lets out a panicked noise and immediately hangs up.

Picked up another person's phone and now hangs up without listening to anything. Children. Can never expect anything coherent from them. Actually, that secretary claimed I called Carl's office instead of a personal phone too. Are the keys redirecting my calls somehow? I call Ouroboros again. (edited)

It picks up. "…"

youre just a client to me. this is work. the fact you dont understand that is why you wont make it in business anymore

Ouroboros gets this notification from Sarah as he falls asleep.

3:38 PM

((End chapter))

3:42 PM

Ouroboros woke up in his bed the next morning.

He goes downstairs.

No one else is home.

That's fine. That's something that's going to work out on its own. He makes a couple pieces of pizza toast and eats them in front of the TV. ... Yes, today was a day where he had nothing to do but wait, really. Sean was likely in the hospital, and it wouldn't make sense to visit him. Nobody in his family wanted anything to do with him. There was no practical direction to move in.

3:59 PM

He checks the lines of salt he left last night.

It’s still there.

Maybe that was it, then. Maybe he was safe from God here. But true safety isn't real anyway. so he decides to go for a walk.

((Roll))

((17))

Ouroboros feels like someone is watching him.

"...Ehn?" He says this out loud.

No response.

He looks around.

A suspicious looking man is following him from a distance.

Is he even slightly familiar?

He is not.

He looks at him directly. "Hello?"

"Hello." He looks alarmed.

"Nice day, isn't it?"

"…Sure seems that way."

"A lot of possible routes to take, too."

He approaches. "I need to talk to you privately, Mr Soniaquill."

"Then you should have said so. Can we speak over text?"

"No."

"Why?" Ouroboros is prepared to be attacked, though he doesn't have any weapons on him.

"We’re not supposed to."

"That doesn't make sense. Go buy a burner phone. It will be fine."

"Well... I'm also supposed to keep you safe."

"From what?"

"The... thing you discussed with my boss yesterday went badly. We're supposed to make sure there's no retaliation, just in case."

"...Sean Niebel is a dangerous man, but he's also hospitalized. More importantly, he's lonely. He doesn't have the connections to retaliate."

"That's not true. He vanished from the hospital last night. We haven't been able to find him since."

"But he was injured?"

"Not enough, clearly."

"I see. I doubt he'll be able to attack me himself, but..." He pauses. "Is that all you wanted to discuss?"

"...Yes."

"I see. Run along, then."

"But I have to watch you."

"I do not need protection."

"Yes, you do."

"I don't." Ouroboros begins walking home.

That guy continues to follow.

As soon as he's home, he locks the door and shuts all the blinds.

The guy knocks.

"I thought you had discussed everything you needed to with me."

"I need to protect you!"

"I'm not leaving. Protect my house from a distance."

"...Fine." He sulks away. "See? Isn't this way more interesting?" Ehn.

Figures. "Your definition of interesting is interesting. An innocent man should not need to be protected from a dead man." (edited)

"What... Did you really think I'd let you kill Sean Niebel like this?"

He looks at the cat. "I don't want Sean dead. You remember that I said that, don't you?"

"And you'll get what you actually want, obviously. I've just set the stakes much higher!"

"Stakes? And why should you care about those?" He crashes down on the couch.

"Because stakes are the basis of a narrative, obviously!"

"Is that how you see it? Existence is a narrative?"

"That's not how I 'see' it. That's just how it is. Do you really think you humans invented the concept of fiction? No, you just stole my ideas."

"I haven't done anything. I've never cared about movies or Maria's anime or whatever. If you consider yourself the writer of reality, though, you don't seem to have much care for your own work."

"I’m whatever I feel like in the moment."

"Come on. I'm sincerely trying to understand your perspective."

"I choose to live beyond human comprehension."

"Then why take the form of a cat?"

"I’m not a cat. I am Ehn!"

"Don't be obtuse. If you really wanted to live like that, a cat is one of the worst forms you can take. It's almost worse than a regular human. They're one of the most thoroughly-understood animals on the planet — even if you've never lived with one, you've heard all the stereotypes. They're a simple machine. They're good at what they want to do, but excessively approachable, and pose no danger to people. They'e as comprehensible as you can get. In fact, dismissing your outlook on life as that of a human with a cat's thought process would be perfectly reasonable."

"I am not a human or a cat! I am Ehn!"

"Well, now you just seem like a child."

"Look who’s talking."

"I'm 52 years old, and have been doing nothing but work. You don't get to deflect here."

"You really think I’m younger than you?"

"Cats never live to see twenty."

"I am not a cat! I am Ehn!"

"But you've consciously chosen to portray yourself as a cat. It's as if your goal is to not be taken seriously. Or... maybe you just don't care."

"You wouldn’t get it. Anyway, I’m busy… So I’m gonna get going."

"What, am I boring you now?"

"Anyone would if I wasted my time on them for too long." Ehn leaves as someone knocks at the door.

Ouroboros gives a quiet sigh. What does Ehn leaves mean here? Is he able to see where she went?

She went towards the door and disappeared through it.

He opens his doorbell monitor app, and sees who’s at the door.

It’s Raven.

Oh. So he has his address. He opens the door. “…Hello.”

"Mr Soniaquill." He immediately walks in, brushing Ouroboros aside. "I hope you don’t mind our visit." There are several other mercenaries standing behind him with bulletproof vests and guns. "Don’t worry. We haven’t used this information for anything else. I maintain a respectable policy. We just needed to find you to keep you safe."

“…I’ve been told as much.” He crosses his arms, crashing down on the couch. “This pretense is annoying. I have no plans to sell you out.” (edited)

"Nor do we think you do. The concern is merely for your safety."

“It would be a lot harder to link this back to me if the men who did it didn’t just come into my house, openly carrying guns. Say, Raven, I have a question for you.”

"There's been a complication. We know for sure he's onto you now."

“I’m not really scared of one man with a bullet wound and no connections.”

"He took out one of our guys, somehow. He's got some kind of inexplicable trick up his slee-" The phone rings.

“Excuse me, please.” He steps into the kitchen and answers it.

The phone stops ringing before he makes it to the kitchen. Inside the kitchen, holding the phone, is Maria Jr. "…Lelouch?" Raven immediately jumps her, restraining her roughly on the ground. Maria Jr lets out a panicked noise and the phone slides out of her hand across the floor.

Ouroboros chokes, like something’s caught in his throat. This doesn’t make sense. Absolutely nothing about this makes sense. “Maria, what’s going on here?!”

Maria starts hyperventilating as the phone rings again. Raven lets some of the other mercenaries drag her away as he picks up the phone and answers. "..."

“Raven!”

Raven moves his mouth away from the phone to answer, causing Sean Niebel's voice to become audible. "I am sorry. Do you know Ouroboros Stanley?" "I'm handling this." Raven goes back to the phone. "Yes, that’s m-"

He rips the phone from Raven’s hand, giving him a rancid glare. Before speaking, he coughs hoarsely, as if correcting his voice. “I’m Ouroboros Stanley, yes.”

"This is Niebel. I want to continue the discussion from Tuesday." "Put it on speaker." Raven spoke commandingly.

He makes an aggressive shushing gesture at Raven. “Hm, really? Which one is that?”

"You wanted to tell me something about Leading Image. Something about getting the position of CEO back, I think." Sean.

“You seemed set in your position. I don’t want to be pushy. Besides, I saw on the news that everything’s already been finalized.”

"I am aware. I don't need it back, as I said back then. Simply curious what you wanted to say." Sean. Raven sighed. "At least ask to meet him. That way, we'll know where to find him."

He purses his lips, speaking hesitantly. “Then it’s better to work this out in-person.”

"Don't mind. I suggest we meet at [insert cafe name here]." Sean.

“Mediocre choice of cafe, but sure. I’ll be there shortly.”

Sean hangs up. "A cafe? Where?" Raven.

He puts the phone back on the receiver. "It's at [location]. Not far from here. I'd appreciate it if you didn't insist on taking over for me where it isn't necessary. Sean knows my voice."

"I see." Raven repeats this to the other mercenaries. "We'll handle him, Mr. Soniaquill."

"I would like to ask you a question first."

"What?"

"Just a little tidbit I've thought of recently. It's a little funny. Have you ever noticed that all Italian food is exactly the same?"

"Excuse me?"

"Well, have you?"

"Is this some kind of code?"

"...No, I was just curious." He clears his throat. "If Sean is as slippery as you say, it wouldn't be wise to be dishonest with him here. If he doesn't see the real Ouroboros, then I genuinely am in danger. I'll meet him."

"...Are you sure?"

"It's the only option."

"...Alright. Good luck."

“Please get your men out of my house.” He leaves, and drives to The Cafe in Question. (edited)

Ouroboros arrives at the cafe. It doesn't seem like Sean is around yet.

He orders a milkshake and sits at an empty table.

"I am sorry. Do you know Ouroboros Stanley?"

"Yes, that’s m-" This was not the voice of Ouroboros Stanley, but it was interrupted by the phone moving away from the speaker. “I’m Ouroboros Stanley, yes.” The real Ouroboros Stanley sounded incredibly annoyed. (edited)

"This is Niebel. I want to continue the discussion from Tuesday."

“Hm, really? Which one is that?” (edited)

"You wanted to tell me something about Leading Image."

1:37 PM

"Something about getting the position of CEO back, I think."

“You seemed set in your position. I don’t want to be pushy. Besides, I saw on the news that everything’s already been finalized.” (edited)

"I am aware. I don't need it back, as I said back then. Simply curious what you wanted to say."

“Then it’s better to work this out in-person.” (edited)

"Don't mind. I suggest we meet at [insert cafe name here]."

“Mediocre choice of cafe, but sure. I’ll be there shortly.” (edited)

I hang up and drive to the place. I park as far away from the cafe as I can while still keeping the entrance in sight. I don't leave the car and wait for either this man or the attackers to show up.

Unfamiliar people go in and out of the cafe for a while, until Ouroboros finally arrives.

I wait for him to go into the cafe and then get into his car and quickly check what he keeps there. I don't want to spend any more time than necessary so I don't carefully check every single thing, but if he keeps something like a large number of guns like that butler or Grizz Soniaquill's business card, I would take note of that.

None of these kinds of things are in there.

I leave, lock the car, go into the cafe and search for Ouroboros.

He’s currently seated at a table near the front.

I sit there and nod instead of a greeting. "Yes, and tell Grizz to return what he owes me already."

"...Sorry, what?" (edited)

"You don't know Grizz?"

"I can't say I do." (edited)

"I was under the impression you knew each other. Never mind then."

"Oh, are you Sean Niebel? Could I have your autograph?" An unfamiliar voice comes from behind Sean. "Oh, fucking hell. You just can't help yourself, can you?" Ouroboros gets to his feet, looking madly annoyed. (edited)

I look at the person.

They have a ski mask and large wooden bat. They swing it down on Sean's face the second he turns towards them. ((Roll))

((two)) (edited)

Sean is struck hard, and falls over, barely conscious. The attacker struck again, knocking him out. When Sean next wakes, he’s been tied up in some kind of walk-in closet. A girl of about 18yo is also tied up and looks terrified. 2 of the armed masked men are also in the closet, keeping watch. ((End session))

2:28 PM

((Not at all where I planned for Sean to end up this chapter but this probably works out fine hopefully))

((is the next session still on saturday?))

((Yeah. You’re caught up to most people(except the ones who’ve outright finished and also some people who are still behind)))

When Sean next wakes, he’s been tied up in some kind of walk-in closet. A girl of about 18yo is also tied up and looks terrified. 2 of the armed masked men are also in the closet, keeping watch.

Didn't expect them to be so bold. That barely visited office building or a hospital room with no people I can understand, but a cafe in the middle of the city? I'd expect at least other people - and there were other customers, there were people walking outside - to at least raise some noise seeing a masked man with a bat. Do people care that little what happens around them? No matter. Back to the more important current situation. I examine how much I am tied up. Could I move my hands? Stand up?

Sean can't stand, and he can't move his arms. But he can move the hands themselves.

This is very inconvenient. For me, that is. Actually. They tied me up instead of killing right away. Good. There might be something they want from me then. Or not, actually. When they attacked Blythe's office, it most certainly looked like they were trying to kill me. "What do you want from me?"

"Uh... Something." Guard.

"Specifically?"

"The boss knows. Something about like.. A contract."

"Can't give you what you want if you don't tell me what it is. Can you at least untie me? This is very unpleasant."

"Uh, we can probably just bring you to him now." The guards try to lift up Sean.

I do not stop them since I can't really do anything to stop them anyway.

They bring Sean to a dining room, and seat him on one end. No one else is in the room, so they quickly head out.

Am I still tied up in the same way?

Yes.

Could I reach the pocket where I keep the keys in this state?

((Roll))

(11)

Sean can reach the keys.

I attempt to touch the rope tying me up with the keys.

Nothing.

2:48 PM

The men come in dragging Ouroboros, and push him towards the other end of the table.

After a bit, Sean sits across from Ouroboros and nods instead of a greeting. "Yes, and tell Grizz to return what he owes me already."

"...Sorry, what?"

"You don't know Grizz?"

"I can't say I do."

"I was under the impression you knew each other. Never mind then." "Oh, are you Sean Niebel? Could I have your autograph?" One of the mercenaries, wearing a ski mask and wielding a baseball bat, approaches Sean from behind.

"Oh, fucking hell. You just can't help yourself, can you?" Ouroboros gets to his feet, looking madly annoyed.

Sean is struck hard, and falls over, barely conscious. The attacker strikes again, knocking him out. "There." He then takes out a gun.

Is he aiming it at him or Sean? (edited)

At Sean.

"Look, don't fucking kill him, okay?!"

"What? Why not?"

He lowers his voice. "We're in a public cafe. I don't want this on me. I am not responsible for this happening."

"Most of them are with us. That's why there's no panic yet."

"Most?!" He throws his arms up in disbelief. "I'm calling this off. Sean doesn't have to..." His voice lowers to a whisper. "Die." (edited)

"You can't call it off."

"What? Why?"

"You already paid."

What? No he fucking didn't. "I don't need a refund."

"...Fine. We'll take this to Raven. You can convince him."

"Tell him to come here." He sits down, taking a sip of his milkshake.

"If you don't come with me, I'll shoot him right here."

"...Whatever." He stands up again, still carrying the shake.

The mercenary drags Sean out of the cafe. "Don't be alarmed!"

He follows.

He drags Sean into Ouroboros's car.

He gets in the car and drives off. Presumably, the random goon doesn't need a ride.

He runs after the car, but is unsuccessful.

He goes home.

There's still a bunch of mercenaries around.

Despite making the decision to drive home knowing Raven and his guys would still be around, he still finds it in him to be disappointed. "Hey! One of you, take him inside." After pointing at the unconscious Sean, he re-enters his home, looking for Raven. (edited)

Raven is there. "I got the call. So you don't want him dead now?"

"It isn't necessary. Killing him at this point would only cause more trouble for me, if anything."

"But you needed something from him, didn't you?"

He gives a heavy sigh. "...I sold my brand a while ago. King Burger. Not to him, but he happened to stumble his way into owning it regardless. But you already knew this, didn't you?"

"So you just need him to give it to you?"

"More or less."

"We'll make him sign a contract."

"...Since we already have him, I guess that works."

"Alright. I'll go figure that out."

"Awesome." Looking away from him, he sits on his couch and watches the news.

The news is covering a new shootout at the headquarters of Team Nine, a group of local youtubers.

Fuck, how many people is Ehn doing this to? Is it possible for a God to get that bored?

12:09 AM

...

12:11 AM

He takes out his phone, and looks up articles for shootings that have happened recently worldwide. Assuming Raven isn't looking over his shoulder, that is.

((Roll))

((12))

Everywhere outside of Avengard seems fairly normal.

Interesting. He keeps watching the news with that in mind, though is mostly just killing time while Raven does his thing.

((Roll))

((6))

Nothing interesting comes on the news before Raven returns. "He’s up. Come on."

He nods, getting up and following Raven.

Raven hands him a contract, and his mercenaries roughly lead Ouroboros into the dining room. Sean is tied up in the chair opposite Ouroboros. "Explain?"

As he sits down, he reads over the contract briefly. "...Let's not waste any time here." He leers at Sean, sliding the paper over to him. "As soon as you sign this, you'll be untied and we can all forget this ever happened."

Sean reads the contract. "Can you guarantee you'll let me leave after I sign?"

"I doubt they want to keep you. If it were up to me, you'd be out of here already. I'm not the one who put out a hit on you."

"Then who?"

He sighs. "It's not worth explaining. You wouldn't believe me. Just sign the paper, and you'll never have to think about it ever again."

"I would."

...Well, maybe. The mercs mentioned him having an ace up his sleeve or something, right? It's a bit of a leap, but it's possible he was visited too. "Mm."

Sean turns to the guards. "Won't sign if can't be sure you'll let me leave." "We don't need to keep you after you sign." Guards. "Sounds like a good reason to kill me." Sean. "Do we kill him?" The guard turned to Ouroboros.

"No, of course not."

"So you won't let me talk to your real boss?" Sean. "He is the real boss." Guard.

"...The real boss is..." He hums, considering how to describe her carefully. "A talking cat."

"What?" Mercenary. "Even if a cat had human intelligence, how would it do it?" Sean.

"Does it matter? You should go figure that out for yourself after you sign the contract."

"Fine. This isn't getting anywhere. Untie me and I'll sign." Sean. The guard cut the rope around Sean's arms. As he said, Sean signs the contract.

Ouroboros takes it back, looking over the signature. "Sean Neibell" is obviously not his name, but that shouldn't make a difference, as long as Raven or his goons are willing to act as a witness. He wouldn't feel bad about getting someone else to lie, either. Sean literally did sign it, and not under duress either, because he had no plans to kill him. "That's it, then. You can go."

"Then untie me and let me leave." Sean. The guard unties Sean. Gunshots ring out outside.

Jesus. He gets up and begins to leave.

The guard rushes outside. Sean follows Ouroboros. "I won't even ask what you have that girl tied up for."

"She's my daughter. These guys are idiots, and she shouldn't be tied up in the first place. I'll deal with her later." Madly annoyed, he goes upstairs to Maria Sr's room.

Ouroboros is alone in the room now.

He takes the gun from her drawer, then goes back downstairs, trying to find Raven.

Raven is in the living room, watching outside from a gap in the curtains.

"...I suppose this is what the protection was for?"

"A cop decided to pick a fight with us, unprovoked. I'd guess Niebel's got some friends in the police."

"Or maybe one of the hundreds of people in this wealthy community saw a row of mercenaries filing into my house." He sighs. "Whatever, I don't care. As soon as the shootout's done, I need your guys to do something for me."

"And that is?"

“Have them root around, and steal four or five things that seem like they’d sell for a lot while still being small enough to carry out inconspicuously. Think like phones or aged wine bottles.”

"You want us to steal from you?"

"Yes. It's a trick I've used before. I'm trying to disguise the motive for everything that's happened here. Sean Niebel broke in with his gaggle of mercenaries, there was a violent confrontation, and we eventually came to an agreement to minimize damages — King Burger for whatever valuables he finds. I'll imply there's more to it later, too."

"Alright. I'll let them know."

"Awesome." He hangs out in some bathroom near the back of the house while he waits for the gunshots to stop. (edited)

Eventually, the gunshots do indeed stop.

He calls Maria Sr.

She doesn't pick up.

He lets the failed call tone ring in his ear. "I won." Putting his phone away, he shakes his head, coming back out to the living room.

The mercenaries are all gone. They've taken a few things, and left a card on a coffee table. It just lists a phone number and a 'just in case'.

"Explain?"

I read the contract.

The contract simply states that Sean Niebel agrees to sign over all rights to the King Burger franchise over to Ouroboros Stanley.

Do I even have any rights related to King Burger? Shouldn't it all go to Carl now? Well, regardless. Not that I care about it. Wait, no. Can't be that simple. They'll use this to forge the signature on another document, I know this trick. And even in that case... "Can you guarantee you'll let me leave after I sign?"

"I doubt they want to keep you. If it were up to me, you'd be out of here already. I'm not the one who put out a hit on you." (edited)

"Then who?"

"It's not worth explaining. You wouldn't believe me. Just sign the paper, and you'll never have to think about it ever again." (edited)

"I would."

"Mm." (edited)

I turn to the guards. "Won't sign if can't be sure you'll let me leave."

"We don't need to keep you after you sign."

"Sounds like a good reason to kill me."

"Do we kill him?" The guard turned to Ouroboros. "No, of course not." Ouroboros.

"So you won't let me talk to your real boss?" (edited)

"He is the real boss." Guard. "...The real boss is..." Ouroboros hums, considering how to describe her carefully. "A talking cat." "What?" Guard. (edited)

Cat? Something like N? Yes, if there is one, there might be more. I should try to ask more. "Even if a cat had human intelligence, how would it do it?"

"Does it matter? You should go figure that out for yourself after you sign the contract." Ouroboros. (edited)

"Fine. This isn't getting anywhere. Untie me and I'll sign."

The guard cut the rope around Sean's arms.

I sign as Sean Neibell, and try to make the handwriting as different as possible from my normal one.

Ouroboros takes the contract. "That's it, then. You can go." (edited)

"Then untie me and let me leave."

The guard unties Sean. Gunshots ring out outside.

"Is that your cat making more contracts?"

Ouroboros gets up and leaves the room. The guard rushes outside. (edited)

I follow Ouroboros. "I won't even ask what you have that girl tied up for."

"She's my daughter. These guys are idiots, and she shouldn't be tied up in the first place. I'll deal with her later." Ouroboros gets in a room and shuts the door. (edited)

I go back to the room I woke up in. Are the guards still there?

No, they're gone. The girl is still there, though.

I turn to the girl. If Ouroboros refuses to talk, maybe this girl will. "So why are you in this, hm, situation?"

"…Lelouch told me to stand guard. I have to call her."

"Answer the question."

"I… I did."

"How did standing guard lead to being tied up?" (edited)

"They saw me hiding…. I don’t know who they are."

"Everything in order. Where and why were you. Who is Lelouch."

"I was in here. Lelouch Maoziwam told me to hide here."

Maoziwam? Actually, two rich families know each other, might be just a coincidence. I want to ask more about hiding, but decide not to. It takes too long to get anything coherent out of this girl. "Heard any stories about sentient animals recently?" (edited)

"Umm… No?"

"Give me that Lelouch's phone number."

She gives it.

I almost turn around to leave, before I think of one more thing. "Warn Lelouch I'll call and tell her to answer my questions, okay?" After saying that, I untie her.

"Okay. Who are you?"

I think for a second whether to call myself Sean Niebel or James Kingsley, before I come up with a better idea. "Hm... This is a big secret, actually, but you don't seem dangerous. Don't tell anyone. I'm a private detective. My real name is a secret. Currently posing as Sean Niebel by his request. He is at the center of a major conspiracy, I really can't say any more here, but it seems your family got involved as well. Would be in your interests for me to solve it quickly. For Lelouch, say I'm your detective friend Ethan Schurdell."

"Umm… Okay." She takes her phone out of some hiding spot and calls.

((btw have the gunshots stopped since then?))

The gunshots have ceased.

I act like I don't care about the call at all and walk away, but stop just far enough to still hear what they are discussing.

"Umm… Hello."

((i dont have anything to say, just saying im still here i didnt leave))

"Yes, I’m fine… Someone wants to ask you something."

Yeah I'm staying here listening.

"He says his name is Ethan Schurdell. He’s pretending to be Sean Niebel or something. I’m supposed to tell you he’s my detective friend and that… He has questions for you."

5:51 PM

"Well, he asked…"

((you dont have to wait for me to react to continue the conversation im here))

((I know))

5:51 PM

((Rei is just slow))

((you posted twice immediately after i sent a message so i just assumed thats whats happening))

"Oh, sorry!" She exits the room shortly after.

I exit the room slightly later and go in the direction where I expect the exit to be, while still listening to the phone call. (edited)

She is no longer on the phone.

Then I just leave the building.

5:58 PM

Is it the Stanley mansion?

It is.

5:59 PM

The mercenaries have cleared out.

I find a place that has multiple cars parked, get into one, and drive away. I drive to some place far enough from the mansion and without too much people, and stop there.

6:04 PM

((oh yeah is the girl i talked to here and the one who answered ouroboros's phone the same person?)) (edited)

((Yeah))

6:05 PM

It’s late evening at this point.

I call Lelouch Maoziwam.

((ig im leaving for today then))

((Should only be a little bit))

6:51 PM

((Rei left for a short while but she's back))

((ok then im still here))

The call was ignored.

((then im leaving for today))

((Ok bye))

((Saturday))

The call was ignored.

Hm. I suppose it's too late for her? Yes, I'll try again tomorrow. Tomorrow... How much time do I have? This chaos won't last forever. Dogs with magical keys, cats hiring mercenaries. Getting public or getting covered up, there is only very limited time before everything ends one way or another. And then I won't have anything again. Nothing interesting, nothing unique. Now is the only chance I have. The only chance to do anything, anything interesting. I have the keys, no, the keys' power doesn't even matter that much. What matters is their existence. There aren't many people with these powers, but I am one of them. I am involved in this. And I need to get involved even more. By any means necessary. "Schurdell" would be a valuable tool as well. A double fake identity. Like forged evidence of forged papers. Heh. I'm still proud of that trick, even if it didn't matter in the end. Yes, "Schurdell" could be useful if used right, but I mustn't get distracted. The end goal is leaving real impact, not spinning a fictional tale. Or it would be meaningless, just like all fiction is. No delaying anything for later. I need to do everything I can now. I call Maoziwam's daughter again.

She doesn't pick up.

Then to the next thing. I look up information on Kerloe Fishery. The location, the scale of the fishery, new information on the shootings, any other notable recent events and so on. Fisherman Soniaquill, Kerloe Fishery shootings by someone in a dinosaur costume, dinosaur youtuber connected to that team, shootings at that team's office right before I'm attacked by so-called "Grizz"'s men. Definitely worth searching for connections.

Kerloe Fishery is a store that sells fish in Avengard. It's not too massive, but it works. The store is currently open but not for long.

I drive there.

((Pause for 30 minutes until mvdy gets back))

Sean arrived at the fish store.

Assuming there is nothing unusual happening around, I go into the store.

Hav Kerloe comes out of the store, just finished closing up.

((This can't be heard on the phone so I'll run the Carl parts through here.)) "Uh... Yeah?" Carl calls out through the door.

"Call for you!" Harriet says.

"Oh, uh... Who?"

"He didn't say."

"Uh, tell him I'm busy."

"He wants to know when he can call again."

He thinks to himself for a moment, before coming up with a genius idea. "February 32nd."

"He wants to know if you're drunk again." ((Also, how much longer do you think this session will be? I don't think I'll be able to do more than 3 hours every saturday, so I'll probably need to be done by 5~ish.))

((Alright, good to know. Session length isn't really planned I just go until someone asks to leave))

4:35 PM

"What? No way! I've... I've never been drunk. Not a drop in my life."

"Ok, well, what should I tell him?"

"Tell him... Tell him no!"

((He's insisting he called Carl's home phone but I assumed that it was the work phone that was ringing so not sure what's going on))

((That is indeed what was ringing))

"Oh, for christ's sake. Carl, can you just take the phone already?? I think it's really important." She tries to shove it into his hand.

"Fine!" He takes it.

5:02 PM

"Who is this?" He says it into the phone.

5:03 PM

"Oh, boss!" He clears his throat. "I mean... Person that I know from outside of work."

((I'm gonna head out now))

((I was hoping you'd leave the room first so I could keep the other session going but oh well))

((Good job!))

((Thank you!!))

((Saturday. Though, if possible, could you make it to a makeup session at some point this week? Partially due to the whole scheduling issues that brought you here in the first place, there’s a pretty big gap between you, Sean, and some others vs the rest. This isn’t required or anything))

((I can’t say I’ll be able to for sure. Will need a bit to figure out what my schedule is for next week, but I’ll lyk if I have the time))

10:33 PM

((Like I’ve mentioned before I’m pretty booked until late October))

((Lmk as soon as you’re here))

((It’ll be like 3:20-3:15 and I’ll have to leave around 5.))

((I'm ready @Ehn/PC . Can go until 5 so we'll have to be quick))

"Oh, uh. Sure. How much?"

((are you narrating carl talking to the sean on the phone rn))

((Yes))

((ok cool just clarifying))

"Yeah, sure. Yeah. Sending it." Carl nods to himself.

"Oh, uh. Just tell her it’s you next time." Carl looks at Harriet.

"What?"

He hands back the phone. "Oh, that was the boss. The uh… Old one. Niebel."

"Oh." She frowns. "Why didn't he just say it was him?"

"He’s way too cool for that, come on. He’s like… A god among men. In a cool normal way that people would say that."

"Would you like a pat on the back for being very normal about things?"

"Yeah, good idea. I’ll ask Levinson later. Anyway, back to your post. I have… So much work, you have no idea."

Harriet blinks at him, before wheeling herself dejectedly back to her "post" - which she really cannot emphasize enough is just a shitty desk Carl set up right in front of his office. Sometimes she cannot believe the fucking nerve of that guy. She knows it's part of the job description, technically, but being beholden to someone's every incoherent, ridiculous whims is very hard work! She boots up her laptop and attempts to engage with the more tedious part of her job - scrolling through her Twitter while "looking like a woke piece of meat" for Carl. Predictably, she finds her attention sputtering.

After a short while, the elevator is once again opened by Shuichi Maoziwam.

Harriet looks up. Feels, once again, the audible shift in her brain. Time to get the show rolling. "Mr Maoziwam! How may I help you?"

"Who are you? Where is Carl?" He doesn’t seem to perceive the human sitting in front of him as a person.

Harriet smiles. It's stiff all over. She's stiff all over. Plastic in her seat, glazed-over doll eyes. The works. "He's in his office. Right behind me, sir." The "sir" slips out unbidden, like she's a dog trained slightly too well to stop.

He continues to stare at her for a moment longer, visibly displeased, before entering Carl's office.

Harriet exhales before slumping against the desk, before shooting up. "Corpse Husband?" She whispers.

It appears.

"Do you think you could sneak in there and tell me what they're saying? Like, write it down or something? You can lift a pen, right?"

((Have to leave now, sorry)

5:14 PM

((Will try to schedule a makeup session soon, I know I'm behind))

He begins writing out the following conversation. SHUICHI: Carl. Who is that woman? CARL: Oh, she's... My secretary. You know, like rich people have. SHUICHI: Why would you need a secretary? Are you truly so deluded as to believe any person would wish to speak to you? Do you actually expect to accomplish any work in your life? CARL: Wow... You are... You're saying a lot of words there, I'm not sure I heard right? Let's uh... Let's maybe pivot back. To how great it is... That she would listen to me. Shows how respected I am. SHUICHI: Carl. What part of that is great to you? The respect? Do you actually believe that that (misogynistic slur) respects you? That the respect of her alone would mean anything? CARL: … SHUICHI: Listen to me clearly. No one in this building will ever respect you. No one in this building will ever love you. But you don't need them. They don't matter whatsoever. Fire the secretary. CARL: Wow, that's... That's so crazy. I could've sworn you said this wild thing. But let's just swerve into something more important... Like how good my work ethic is. SHUICHI: Do you want the truth, Carl? CARL: Yeah. Yeah! I love the truth.

5:24 PM

SHUICHI: Then listen to it. Your work ethic is terrible. You've only ever received any promotion out of nepotism. I picked you as CEO because you were the worst and most gullible person I had ever met. I can insult you to your face and be met with complete and total dismissal. You're pathetic. And that's exactly why I need you, Carl. CARL: There's uh. There's a 'but' in there, right? SHUICHI: No. Your existence is bafflingly pathetic. Impressively so. In the face of our boring and agonizing reality, you have managed to become a joke. In all ways that matter, you are blind. Deaf. Essentially braindead. No response you have ever given me has managed to connect to a single word I say. If you were to die, the only respect you would have earned from anyone would be a laugh. CARL: Sounds... Uh.... Sounds real positive. SHUICHI: Everyone despises you, Carl Tucker. CARL: Let's... Uhh… Maybe discuss something else? Like, how cool I am. And how cool it is... That I have... Umm... A secretary? SHUICHI: Whatever the case, that's not why I'm here. CARL: I'm sure she won't disappoint. I like... Personally picked her out and shit. SHUICHI: We have changed topics. This is about your old boss, Sean Niebel- CARL: Like, well... If you miss your wife, you know she could- This next line is audible even without Corpse Husband. Shuichi yells out in violent anger. "SHUT UP, CARL!"

5:25 PM

((Ok see ya))

((Saturday, though let me know if you could make it to a makeup session))

"SHUT UP, CARL!" Shuichi.

Harriet stares blankly at the paper in her hands - seeing it, but not recognizing anything on the page. When she speaks, her voice is a toneless whisper. "Keep writing."

Corpse Husband continues writing. SHUICHI: Shut up, Carl! CARL: Sorry. SHUICHI: Carl. Do you truly want respect? Do you want people to remember you? In death, do you desire to be more than void? CARL: Uh... Yeah. Yeah! That sounds great! Yeah! SHUICHI: Good. I want these things as well. And I shall acquire them no matter what. There is no force in this world more powerful than to be respected by it. Do you not agree? CARL: Yeah, yeah! Totally! So true! SHUICHI: I would prefer if you spoke in cohesive sentence rather than bumbling through language like a blind man trapped in a dictionary. CARL: Uh... Alright, will do. Yeah, respect is great. When I die, I'll make sure people remember me. Rather than... SHUICHI: Still terrible, but improvement enough I suppose. The point is, as I say, I shall acquire them. And as I do so, you stand the chance to perhaps take some of the scraps of my success for yourself. CARL: They're uh... They're good scraps, right? SHUICHI: Yes. They are good scraps for someone of your worth. Much more than you'd ever find in your lifetime normally, I'd wager. CARL: Then... Then what's the deal! What do I have to do? SHUICHI: For now, nothing. And in general, absolutely nothing I do not order you to do. Can you do that? Of course you can, I require no brain effort from you in the slightest. It is impossible for you to fail as you would normally, were I to request anything from you. I simply need to know you will not be impulsive and rash, like the mere monkey you are unsupervised. CARL: Yeah. Yeah... I can listen.

2:24 PM

SHUICHI: Good. From now on, make no contact with Sean Niebel that I do not instruct you to do. That man is to stay alone, no matter what. Can you do this? CARL: Uh, well... I'm all for following your plans but uh... The boss is kinda my hero too, y'know? I can't just- SHUICHI: He is not your boss. I am. Nor does he care about you in the slightest. Do you value pathetic one-sided adoration more than respect? If you cannot perform this simple task, I will throw you out the door and find a more useful replacement. Even your secretary could do better. Is that what you want? Is that how far you're willing to stoop for Niebel? CARL: Uh... SHUICHI: Answer the question. CARL: No, sir. ...Will do. You're the boss. SHUICHI: Good. That will be all, then. Do not fail me. Shuichi left the office.

Harriet exhales - a low, almost terrified sigh. She considers - sending Corpse Husband to break his arm, or something, make him feel just as humiliated as she feels right now - but dismisses the idea immediately. She doubts Corpse Husband's capable of that. Instead, she looks up to the clock on the wall to check the time.

As Harriet discovers it's around 2PM, Carl lets out a loud and anguished cry from within his office. For the next few minutes he can be heard crying and hitting things.

Harriet's not sure when she gets off work, so she stays put. At the sound of Carl's wailing, she feels a sense of satisfaction wash over her, cold. Harriet stares down at her phone and decides to text Sarah, who would probably know how to handle this situation better than Harriet handled it - by doing nothing, by being so gormless, so fragile. Sarah's smart, and she's brave, and she - she would know what to do in a situation like this, right? Harriet begins carefully composing a text. Serious fucking business, right here. Like defusing a nuclear warhead, but with slightly more humiliation involved. How are u? No, don’t be stupid. Hey :) No, that sucks. Hey. Do you want to be best friends? Because your sense of self-worth is better than mine, and I’m hoping it’ll rub off on me.. Fuck. That sucks too. Finally, Harriet settles on “What’s up?”

Sarah responds with "busy sorry" about a minute late. After a little bit, she adds "got the worst job ever".

"Oh?" texts Harriet, trying extremely hard not to come off as needy.

'ever heard of kidink? absolute psycho'

Harriet frowns. "Vaguely"

Long gap this time. 'lucky'

"Do you mind telling me about him"

'her'

"Fine, mind telling me about her?"

Harriet gets a text from Alexi. 'Fine. I'm sorry'

Harriet frowns, confused. "What?" she sends Alexi.

'thats what you wanted right? need me to stop being an ass and kiss yours???? fine. im SORRY. just stop working there and get over here'

((am I supposed to know where "here" is or is Alexi being vague on purpose))

((He is implying The Apartment))

"I'm still at work," she starts typing back - then shoots a look at Carl's door, where she's fairly certain she can still hear the sound of faint sobbing - and deletes it in favor of "I'm coming now." Quietly, she attempts to wheel herself out of the office.

Carl suddenly bursts out the door, with wet eyes he struggled to cover up. "Hey, uhhh... Walls in there... They're pretty noiseproof, yeah? Real silent?"

Shit. "Uh.. yeah, Carl." She says through her teeth. "Not a peep. Listen, can I, like..." she trails off and begins gesturing to the elevator.

"Yeah, great." He clears his throat. "Gonna need a desk repairman. Let me tell you, the new boss, Shuichi? Completely blew it apart. Real anger issues, that guy. But I held strong. Strong... And cool. Tell me how valued I am aga-" He cuts himself off. "Uh... Doing fine. Gonna get one of those repairman. For the... Rest of the day. Bye." He steps into the elevator.

Harriet blinks, astonished, at her own luck. She waits for the elevator to take him down.

Sarah texts back with a link to a website about Naomi Kidink's legal practice.

Harriet, distracted from the elevator, clicks on the link and reads what the webpage says.

Naomi seems to be a very popular criminal defense lawyer leading a law firm here in the city of Avengard.

She scrolls down, trying to see if there's anything incriminating.

Seems like a standard lawyer.

3:24 PM

The elevator is available again.

Harriet wheels herself to the elevator. While she's waiting for it to go down, she texts Sarah "I don't see anything too bad here"

'yeah shes just a bitch'

3:28 PM

'reminds me of my mom'

"Whoa, kind of a loaded statement haha"

'yeah i just wanted to hate on both of them again'

3:31 PM

'but shes got a son too. treats him like shit. apparently hes run away'

"Oh wow, that's pretty intense. What happened to him?"

'no clue. i talk to him sometimes hes a cool kid'

"Cool." Harriet wonders why the elevator hasn't stopped yet.

The elevator arrives.

Harriet wheels herself out and to the parking lot, where she locates her car and clambers into it. "OMW" she texts Alexi.

Alexi does not reply.

Harriet reaches Alexi's apartment.

She opens the door. "Finally, come in."

Harriet wheels herself in. "What's wrong?" She asks without preamble.

"You want to threaten me? Fine. I can justify all of this." Their breathing was shaky.

((I feel like this should be picked back up when my attention span is better. Done for today))

((Fuck. Alright then))

((Saturday))

"You want to threaten me? Fine. I can justify all of this." Their breathing was shaky.

Harriet feels a sharp pang of anger. Who does he think he is? "Justify it, then."

"Carl Tucker, LeIBlInc, Sean Niebel, so on... They don't really mean anything. They don't matter. You can find 50 assholes just like those 2. Skimming some of their money for ourselves doesn't mean anything if you cut it off there, and taking an honest job under them's even worse. You're pathetic." Her words lacked any of the confidence they were supposed to present.

Harriet startles, feeling her hands shake on her wheelchair. The fucking nerve of her. Prissy bitch up on his high horse thinks she can talk about - what? Committing grand larceny? Some other dramatic, excessive crime? Do they just not get it? Harriet doesn’t have a choice - has never had a choice. Not the way Alexi does, not ever. “Excuse me for trying to make a living.” Harriet says, face burning.

"You really think this is a living in any sense of the word? You're a slave. 'Yes, Carl', 'No, Carl', 'Everyone loves you Carl'. He asks you to jump, you say 'how high?' and then remember you can't fucking stand." She finishes her search, and pulls out a photograph. "You think this is some kind of improvement? Look at you, living the highlife. Same job, same boss, and you think that's a living? You annoy him too much, you'll be dead on the street in a month. Fuck you."

“You don’t have anything.” Harriet hisses, incandescent. “Sorry that I’m not a good enough puppet for you to jerk around, sorry I'm not the good cripple. Do you think I don’t know any of this? Of course I’m just a slice of meat to him, you stupid asshole. You’re asking me to set myself on fire to keep you warm, and I can’t - I won’t-” Harriet stops, overcome. Then, quietly - “At least he pays me. At least he doesn’t.. do these fucking mind games, alright. I know I’m a bad - I know I’m a bad leftist, I know I’m bad, I know I’m wrong. But what else is there, okay? For someone like me?”

"I don't fucking care about your politics. If you ask me, I'd let everyone on this earth die under fascism if it served my purposes. I don't care." He attempts some kind of smirk but it just looks weirdly forced. "Point is, I'm in this for myself. And unlike Carl, I need you for more than a little praise. I'm not even the kind of person who deserves or needs praise, anyway." He sighs. "I have a plan. And if you're willing to stop sucking up to the most moronic man ever conceived, I can make it benefit you too."

Harriet tries to calm herself down. She’s still shaking - still sweating - but she manages to exhale and settle further in her chair. Here’s the issue. She doesn’t - know what to do, exactly. She doesn’t trust that Alexi won’t do the same thing to her. Give her some figurehead position and leave her there, the token cripple, riding off of everyone else’s coattails, always, always. She doesn’t trust Alexi, period. Not the way she talks or acts or the way she suggests things. But. What choice does she have, right? It’s being Carl’s puppet forever otherwise. She can’t. And she wants to be a brave person, right? She wants to be someone who makes good choices, inspired choices, revolutionary choices. She wants to be good. She wants to do something she knows for sure is correct. To not fuck it up again. “I’ll hear you out.”

"Good. Have you ever heard of Jeff Johnner?"

"No."

"He's a mob boss. Leads the criminal underworld of this city with an iron fist or whatever. The police has nothing they can tie him to, but everyone knows he's guilty as sin. Only problem is, he's not actually the boss. Only he knows the identity of the leader, and I doubt he plans to tell anyone. What I'm thinking is, a quick bit of identity theft and... a little murder... and a good enough con artist can sit on top of the throne just like that. We don't have to work another day in our lives."

"A little what?"

"It's not ideal." They raise their hands defensively. "But be honest, do you really value knockoff Al Capone's life over your own?"

"I- I don't want to kill anyone, jesus!"

"I'm not asking you to be the assassin! I doubt you could even pull it off." He sighs. "Point is, I have an easy ticket to the top. Without you, I'm dead in the water. Without me, you're stuck kissing Tucker's ass for the rest of your life. Are you in, or not?"

Harriet sighs. This.. can’t possibly be a good idea. But she doesn’t know what else to do anymore. “Alright.”

Alexi almost lets out the words "Thank you" but stops herself midway. They raise a photograph. "This is him. Jeff Johnner." The second Harriet sees this man, her vision seems to weirdly double. Or rather, it's like she's looking at the same man through 2 separate sets of eyes. Her body begins to feel like she's splitting in half, and an agonizing scream escapes her lips. The body of Harriet Kadin loses consciousness, but she continues to watch Jeff Johnner from a second form. Harriet is in what appears to be a tiny prison cell. There are metal bars on each side, and an uncomfortable looking mattress. There is a small slot that seems to be used for delivering food. The room outside the cell has room for more stuff, and seems like some kind of storage room. There is also another cage that is currently empty. Standing just outside the cell is Johnner, but also inside the cell is the one you call 'Corpse Husband', more commonly known as ???, in a fully human form.

Lelouch showed the gif of the girls hugging to Jade. "Can we do this??"

"Of course." Jade did it.

"Osneknejeomfg ily"

"I love you too, miss Lelouch!"

Twitter notification: Your account has been temporarily suspended. Delete this tweet to recover it in 24 hours: https://discord.com/channels/959192904184778753/969222165029335060/1025910427533705266

((a;lkjfek;LKJGKRA;LEJTALEWRPJ))

7:44 PM

Lelouch released the hug. "You're the best hauuemote." Lelouch still had her phone on while hugging so she caught a glance of the notification when doing this. "??????" (edited)

7:45 PM

"Jade, this is it. The next enemy of our love that we must defeat! ~~Twitter~~ Kite!"

"Of course!"

She deletes the tweet so she can have her Twitter account back ~~and promptly tweets a screenshot of said deleted tweet.~~ (edited)

((24 hours left))

((oh misread that as you have to delete it in 24 hours))

7:48 PM

"Let's go back to our base!"

"Alright!" Jade led the way.

Lelouch followed and held hands with her ((wholesome!))

7:50 PM

When they arrived at the base, the entire place was surrounded by heavily armed men in ski masks. ((End session))

((soooo true))

((No session this week))

((Saturday))

Lelouch Maoziwam

"Then be faster?? I don't know! This goddamn thing is useless though if it only works in specific scenarios!"

((the new best line of this route))

((lelouch shouting Get Good)) (edited)

Ehn/PC

Twitter notification: Your account has been temporarily suspended. Delete this tweet to recover it in 24 hours: https://discord.com/channels/959192904184778753/969222165029335060/1025910427533705266

((this isn't how it fucking works))

((Yes it is))

9:29 PM

((Shut up))

When they arrived at the base, the entire place was surrounded by heavily armed men in ski masks.

Lelouch quickly hid behind a nearby house or building or whatever there is in the area. "Are you kidding me?? Maria didn't even alert us!" She opened her phone.

"She really is incompetent. I'm starting to feel bad for her mother now." Jade.

((#owned))

3:04 PM

Lelouch neither agreed nor disagreed. Instead, she called the policeman's personal number that she had just gotten.

He picked up.

Shit, I don't think I told him anything to say to make sure it was him each time I called... wait I guess I could just... "Tell me your credit card information." Hopefully this isn't some rando.

He gives it.

"The next time I call you, I want you to answer with 'Hello, what could I do for you ma'am?'" That should be specific enough to not have anyone else say it? "I need you to come over to [insert address] by yourself if possible. I just need you to scare off these people that are surrounding the place. They are armed so be careful. If the situation gets really bad, call backup but don't mention that I'm the one that told you this." She thought for a second. "Also, do not get yourself killed." It'd be a pain to have to find another cop...

"On it." The cop.

Lelouch hung up. "I'm going to call Maria real quick and then we can go, alright? It's not worth it to try to use the perfume on all of them, and it'd be difficult to with those masks of theirs anyways. We definitely need to test how strong it is next chance we get."

Jade nodded.

Lelouch called Maria

It picked up. "..."

She waited for Maria to speak first.

She did not.

Lelouch hung up. "I think someone took Maria's phone. She wouldn't say anything when I called it which might not be too abnormal honestly, but I don't want to risk it."

"Do you think she's been captured?" Jade.

"That's definitely possible considering she didn't text me. It's too dangerous to try to get her though, and we don't need to worry about her telling those people about us. The best course of action now would be to stay somewhere else until that cop tells me everything has been taken care of... Aghh but god! How could she not notice this many people?? That's just absurd!"

"I have an idea for what we can do in the meanwhile. Follow me." Jade ran down the street.

Lelouch followed. "W-wait what's your idea??"

Jade arrived at school, which was closed at this hour.

"Are you wanting to stay here?"

"No, but… They should have ventilation here too, right?"

"Oh, you're right! Using that is such a brilliant idea

"When that monster Kite returns… Let’s give him the worst day of his life."

"Ohhh you know it." Lelouch smiled.

Jade tried to find the ventilation.

Lelouch helped her

((Roll))

((2

))

Lelouch’s phone rings.

Lelouch checks the caller.

It’s Maria.

((Hi))

((hi sorry was writing something IMPORTANT (xy)))

5:23 PM

"Maria?" Lelouch answers the phone but doesn't say anything.

"Umm… Hello." Maria.

"Maria!! Are you alright?"

"Yes, I’m fine… Someone wants to ask you something."

"Who...? Is someone in the house with you??"

"He says his name is Ethan Schurdell. He’s pretending to be Sean Niebel or something. I’m supposed to tell you he’s my detective friend and that… He has questions for you."

"..." "Why does he know about me? Did you tell him about me??"

"Well, he asked…"

"Wait did I forget to... fuck. Don't mention me to people without my permission ever again." Lelouch hung up.

5:54 PM

"Jade, we may have a problem. Apparently Maria mentioned us to a guy named Ethan Schurdell that also goes by Sean Niebel."

"Who is he?" Jade.

"She said he was a detective? God we might be screwed..."

"We haven’t done anything wrong, Ms Lelouch. If anything, he’ll want to thank us."

"Well we know that of course, but the whole point of doing this is to help others understand us. Unfortunately men aren't the brightest and assume the worst."

"Exactly." She nodded.

6:13 PM

"By the way, I found the vent. We can pump it up on Monday."

((im going to be gone for a bit. taking care of kids))

Ehn/PC

"By the way, I found the vent. We can pump it up on Monday."

"Awesome! I can't wait

"It's getting late. Where should we go?"

"Let me check with that police guy first." Lelouch texted him asking for an update.

They've cleared away.

"Hmm he said they're gone now. Do you want to go back to the base or play it safe for a day?"

"Being cautious sounds better. Plus, don't you think it'd be funny to watch your father react to what happened today?"

"While that's very much true, I'd rather do that from afar... Maybe we could set up a camera or something." Lelouch laughed.

"Are you scared of him?" Jade got very close to Lelouch and did the

thing. "No matter what, I will protect you."

((so fucked up that that's an emote))

7:04 PM

"I-it's not that it's just. He's so annoying and..." Her voice trailed off. "Thanks Jade

Lelouch’s phone rang.

Lelouch ignored it.

"Where shall we go then, Ms. Lelouch?"

"Let's go back home..." Lelouch is

ing.

Jade took Lelouch's hand, and went back to the apartment.

7:25 PM

((nnbhvfyhjk))

7:39 PM

"So I guess we both should act confused about this? We can say we didn't see it actually happen because we were shopping which technically isn't a lie."

"That's a good idea."

"Alright then! Let's go with that." Lelouch went into the apartment and did elevator stuff

Unless she gets interrupted

They are in the apartment now.

Lelouch listened for Shuichi.

There's no sound of him.

Guess he's not home yet? Not like I need to pretend to be surprised if I say we already saw this earlier.

7:55 PM

Lelouch walked to her room.

As Lelouch passed by the study, Shuichi came into her view. He stared silently and motionlessly at the ransacked room. His expression made him look on the verge of tears, but his eyes were completely dry. He simply stared in noiseless agony.

Lelouch kept as straight of a face as possible and continued walking. Serves him right... 'You will weep' my ass.

8:01 PM

((this will be shuichi))

Jade followed.

Once she got to her room she closed the door. "Mmppfpff did you see his face?? He acts all high and mighty but then can't handle a little bit of a mess!" She says this very quietly obviously.

Jade laughed. "He's so pathetic."

"Tell me about it... It's embarrassing honestly." She started cleaning up her room.

Jade helped.

8:48 PM

After a while, Shuichi opened the door. "...Lelouch."

"Hm." Lelouch did the hm? noise but without the question mark. No way.

"Where were you today?" Shuichi. "She was doing what she wanted." Jade stepped in between the 2.

"We went out for a bit. What does it matter to you." Lelouch kept cleaning her room.

"While you were gone, thieves came. They took everything. Ruined our very home." Shuichi. "Lelouch's home is doing just fine. We don't care about your problems." Jade. "Instruct your guard dog to cease." Shuichi.

Lelouch stopped. "Excuse me?"

"They took everything. Precious objects, memorabilia, and even mere trinkets. Stolen from us in broad daylight by mere scoundrels with no sense of decency. No sense of morality. They took all of it! Your mother resided in that room! She lived on through there! And it is gone! Senselessly taken from us in a single day!" Shuichi. (edited)

"Of course you still only tie her to mere objects...." (edited)

"And what would you tie her to, what allows you to view yourself as better? Aimless ether? Her rotting corpse? Or have your already let her die in her mind entirely? Are you already taking grand strides, so proud of yourself for escaping remorse?" He stepped forward, Jade still blocking him off. "No, I think not. You're a spiteful little narcissist, but you do nothing greater than me. Just like me, you're still trapped in that car. You see the other driver oncoming, terrified that you may be next. That you may be swept off this miserable earth like anyone else and contribute nothing! But you don't know what to do at all, do you? You want to forget so badly. But you can't. And so you drown yourself in this filth, indulge your childish gluttony with women and shallow meaningless affection. All of this, what is it? A competition? A race to see who moves on from that day before the other?" He took another step forward. "Are you so desperate to consider yourself better than me that you try with every facet of your being to wipe them from your mind? Do you truly consider this a victory? No, no. This competition in your mind elicits no victory. There are no winners in grief or remorse. When you finally forget them, truly, you will not be happy. You will be so drowned in toxic pleasure that you will live in a world where nothing lacks any meaning. Your mother, your brother, gone. Erased. You will forget they ever existed. And for what? Your own happiness? Do you believe it to be something to strive for? No, your happiness is nothing before the lives of those 2. You would disgrace their very existence for the chance to have a mere moment of peace, but the truth is that you simply do not deserve one.”

9:53 PM

He took another step forward now, incredible close to Lelouch and Jade. “You wish to view me as evil. Satan incarnate. A bogeyman who’s existence is solely defined by everything that you must not be. I am in grief, and so sadness itself must be your enemy. You chase remorse, empathy, any modicum of human decency… You chase them away as far as you can possible achieve, because I feel them. Because I would dare to become a person of even slight goodness, you will spite me at every chance you can by embarking in delusion. Are you happy with yourself? No, of course not. You will never be happy. There is no happiness to be found in this world. Joy is merely the tool of your next misery. Enjoyment is the enemy. Misery, your friend. Be content with loss and undo every bit of that which you had lost in the first place. No, she must live in this home. She must live in that room. So that no matter what, I can never abandon her. The world can never forget her. It will pay for what it has taken from us, but for now… It shall grant her a place to live.”

Lelouch started shaking. "She's gone... When will you accept that! I'm so sick and tired of you and your refusal to face the goddamn facts. You waltz around pretending you're above everyone else yet act like a kicked puppy at every other moment of the day! And then you pat yourself on the back for it?? Wow, tremendous job on being sad! You must be sooo proud of yourself." She started laughing, "Seriously, do you not see yourself? Some guy walks in here and ruins our home and your response to it is to yell at me about ooooh how unhappy I am and oooooh how you're such a bad guy in my eyes. Honestly, where is the logic in that?? Hilarious, really." "Let me be clear, though, because there seems to be quite the misunderstanding here. You mean nothing to me. You aren't some bogeyman or Satan or whatever. Stop flattering yourself. All you are is some sad man who pretends to be worth more than he is. You can spout all the nonsense you'd like and rant all about how everyone around you sucks, but it will never change the fact that you're but a speck of dust. Someone who will never truly create change or affect the lives of others like I will. So quit this shitty act and get out of our faces. We're trying to clean." (edited)

He laughed to himself for a moment. "I see. You're truly so far wrapped up in your own delusions that would dare to feign you hold no respect for me? No, I think not! I am your father! I have spawned you into this world and allowed every moment of your existence! The very life you lead, your petty attempts at rebellion... They exist only because of me! Because I am your father, and you my daughter! You think yourself above me!? Do you believe you can toss me away as you would another!? ABSOLUTELY NOT!" In a moment of senseless anger, Shuichi's arms stretched out towards Lelouch. Before she could react, the hands of her own father wrapped around her throat and squeezed. "I am your everything! They should have been your everything! But you're a coward! A stubborn, foolish coward who respects no one but herself! So allow me to free you at this moment, before you truly do leave this world without a single person to care for you!"

"!!" Lelouch clawed at Shuichi hands in an attempt to free herself. Jade, please!

Shards of ceramic exploded from Shuichi's head, as Jade swung a bowl onto it. He collapsed to the side, groaning in pain. As Lelouch coughed, recovering from her restricted breathing, Jade was the only one left standing. She smirked confidently, staring down at Shuichi like he was a mere insect. "Is that all? A pathetic attempt to control her? She's moved far beyond you now. You mean nothing to her. You mean nothing to everyone. The world sees you and feels nothing but pale apathy. Just another rich bastard in it all for himself. Lelouch is far greater than you, but you're far too delusional to ever understand." She laughed a little, pausing for a moment. "Well... You love death that badly? Why don't you kill yourself, hm?" Jade. "...What?" Shuichi. "Take a shard of glass in your hand right now, and cut your throat open. If you do that, I promise Ms. Lelouch will respect a single action from you, the first one in your entire life deserving of it. That's what you want, right? Her respect. I'm offering you a chance. You better take it before it's too late." Jade picked up a shard and offered it to him. "Come on, you don't want to die without her, right? Accidents are always so sudden." Shuichi slowly rose to his feet. "You... You deceitful little witch. You know not of what you speak. You are a child-" Jade kicked him, sending him tumbling back to the ground and interrupting his attempt to monologue.

10:10 PM

"I know nothing? Are you sure? Talking for a while doesn't make you look smart, it just shows how far your head is stuck up but your own ass. But, well, if you're such a genius, I'm sure you can answer this simple common sense question. Can a father strangle his daughter? In my experience, the answer feels relatively obvious, but I'm allowing you to give your perspective this once." Jade smiled in a mock show of kindness. "Come on, what is it? Can a father-" "..." Shuichi sighed as she mocked him. "...No, family is not the place for violence. However-" "Then I guess you aren't family, huh?" Jade. Lelouch is able to speak beyond coughs now.

Lelouch tried to get up. "You won't do it, will you." She started laughing to herself. "Too afraid to even sit at a table alone... I bet you don't really care for respect that much, huh? You don't actually care for your supposed family at all, hmmm? Not even enough to sacrifice your life worth less than that of an ant." Lelouch looked at Shuichi in disgust. (edited)

"..." Shuichi stared at Lelouch. "Come on, where'd all the big words go? Regale us with your grand speech about how great your depression is. No one's stopping you! I promise I won't kick you this time! Really, spill your heart out! Inspire us with your childish insults while you call us the children. Come oooooon!" Jade. Shuichi took a moment, before smirking confidently. "Very well, if you insist! If you shall maintain your arrogance and demand answers, I shall be fully willing to acquiesce your demands! They say all liars desire to be caught, all criminals to be stopped. You 2 are no exception. Despite your narcissism, you strive to know why I am superior to you, like moths to a flame! You fight with all that you can for my knowledge, knowing that I am greater! That I am superi-" Shuichi was interrupted by Jade grabbing him by the throat and shoving him against the wall. "That's enough of that." Jade turned back to Lelouch. "Can you believe it? He actually went for it!" She laughed victoriously.

((LMAO))

Lelouch sighed. "How predictable... I won't lie, I was kind of hoping he'd really do himself in and prove he's not all talk." She shrugged. "But as funny as it was, his ranting is getting pretty annoying now. Might as well try that again one last time. I would hate for you to get your hands dirty directly if it can be avoided..."

"…Sorry, Ms. Lelouch. But he doesn’t deserve it." She shoved him to the ground and proceeded to start stomping down on him over and over. "This is for everything you’ve done to her! You violent psychopath! All that ego, all that money, and you’re still getting beat by a schoolgirl! Are your precious sensibilities hurting? Oh, but that’s good, right? Your agony is such a great thing! That’s what you said, right? Well for all the pain you’ve given Ms. Lelouch, let me pile some back on you!"

"Pfftt! No need to sell yourself short, Jade. Shuichi should be grateful that you care enough to beat him up personally! I certainly would say that this is quite the step down from what you deserve." She started walking towards Shuichi, "But I guess it never hurt anyone to step on a few ants!" She dug her heel into his throat. "Yeah... it really can be quite therapeutic, can't it?!" She leaned on her leg even more. "Aww where's your response? Does facing your insignificance really leave you that speechless??"

Shuichi let out agonizing growls as he struggled to breathe. Jade laughed. "Come on, if you want us to stop, just ask! The longer you wait, the more you'll have to beg us to stop! But if you're so great, you shouldn't need it! Come one, stop us! Show us what fuels your ego! You must have something, surely!"

"Yeah, don't you have one more shitty monologue in you? Or did you finally run out of things to say? Maybe you accepted that it's all talk and got tired of hiding behind your meaningless words...? Ha, seriously! This is suuch a disappointment!"

"Hah! We expected nothing from you and you're still failing! And you thought you were better than her! That she needed you!" Jade stopped kicking Shuichi and wrapped her arm around Lelouch. "Well, surprise... She doesn't!"

Lelouch almost lost her balance from this and started giggling. "H-hey I almost fell! You're too sweet

" "You're right though, I don't need anyone—especially not this disgrace—as long as I have you. I'm so happy that I know you'll always be by my side...! You really are the most wonderful person a girl could ever ask for!"

"No, Ms. Lelouch. The most wonderful person a girl could ask for... Is you!" Jade suddenly kissed her.

Jdkdndjbdjsbekene Lelouch thinks this.

Jade finally broke the kiss. "I love you, Ms. Lelouch. More than anything." She sat down on the bed. "Could you tell me if you feel the same? Sorry, but I've forgotten the English language." She smiled.

Lelouch sat down next to her, completely forgetting about Shuichi. "I love you! I love you more than anything else!" She smiled back at Jade with pure happiness.

"Like I said, I've forgotten the English language. Don't you have another way to say it?"

Lelouch laughed and then leaned forward and kissed her. This is so wholesome

Jade kissed her back, wrapping her arms around Lelouch.

((i can't hold it back anymore SORRY)) https://tenor.com/view/xorced-sashiro-laedrum-gif-20088163

Jade did not let go of the kiss until Lelouch did.

Lelouch did this then because as awesome as Jade was, a never ending kiss would PROBABLY be a tad too much.

Jade smiled as they broke the kiss. "That’s just a taste of what I‘ll give you. Forever."

Lelouch

️ed. "Yeah... forever..."

Shuichi rose to his feet and looked at them for a moment. "You’re my entire world, Ms. Lelouch." Jade didn’t notice him.

"I could say the same to you." Lelouch also didn't notice Shuichi, she was focused entirely on Jade.

"You’re perfect for each other, I suppose. Your delusions are at harmony, fuelling an endless bonfire of silent misery as you pretend to think it happiness." Shuichi. Jade grabbed another bowl, hearing him. "Rather hypocritical to rush to violence so soon after criticizing me for doing the same. But I suppose self-awareness was never either of your strengths." He turned to Lelouch. "You wish to call me a child. Those words are far less hurtful than the tribalist violence which ensued. But allow me to display my maturity for a moment and do what your childish mind never could. I apologize for attacking you earlier. It was… A moment of weakness." Shuichi's expression was neither depressive apathy or angered madness. It wasn’t an expression Lelouch had really ever seen from her father since the crash.

Lelouch got up from the bed and kicked Shuichi in the stomach with the intent of knocking him down again. Unlike him, her expression was that of anger. "Do not speak to Jade like that. Hell, you aren't worthy of speaking to her at all!!"

((Roll))

((12))

Shuichi avoided it. "I’ve entertained your violence for long enough. Do not consider yourself above further consequences." He walked towards the door. "Wow, another threat already. That apology sure lasted a while." Jade got up. "…" Shuichi looked at Lelouch. "I truly am sorry. I know you perceive me as beyond self-reflection, however… I’m sorry. Gus has passed away, and I simply-" He sighed. "No, I have no excuse. While it may seem outwardly that I despise you, Lelouch… You’re the only family I have left. And as I’ve said, I really do love my family."

10:15 PM

Jade walked up to him, and stared him down. "Just yesterday, do you know what happened? Gus promised consequences, pretended to be family, and when all was said and done… He left like a kicked puppy. You 2 aren’t all that different. All of Ms. Lelouch’s enemies are the same, after all. Men. You talk a big game, promise how great and powerful you all are. You swear it’s all for her own good, but it always ends the same." Jade began speaking in a mocking tone. "I’m sorry! Please forgive me! I always knew you were the most perfect person to ever live" She returned to normal speech and stared him down. "Take off all that baggage of ego, you’re all left bowing to Ms. Lelouch just the same. She’s inevitable like that. Some of us just knew early." Jade.

10:19 PM

"…I see." Shuichi looked at her defiantly. "All this time, I’ve wasted my words on my daughter. You’re the real witch pulling the strings, are you? Calling yourself beneath us so you escape suspicion and continue to prod at her insecurities for your own game. What is your endgoal? Killing her and taking over? Living the highlife while your slave to lust believes herself in any kind of control? What specific manner of fiend are you?" Jade just burst out laughing. "…Hm?" Shuichi.

10:22 PM

"You really don’t get, it do you?" Jade. "You’re so desperate to view me as manipulative… You really think I'd call myself beneath you? You’d be beneath the gum I scrape off my shoe. I’m much greater than you." Jade. "Oh? And what allows you to make such a claim? What do you hold that I do not?" Shuichi. "Ms. Lelouch loves me." Jade shut the door on him.

"I couldn't have said it better myself! I can't believe that asshole would dare talk about you like that though... I guess he really can't stand the thought of actual happiness without strings attached!" "Yeah... We both know you wouldn't ever betray or hurt me." Lelouch smiled at Jade. "And that's what really matters, right? You'd never lie to me, right?? There couldn't possibly be a perfect world that can be formed without the two of us together..." Of course, if she wanted to, she could've already sprayed me with that perfume already... She could've... "C-can I see the perfume."

"Of course, I’d never hurt you or betray you, Ms Lelouch." She took out the perfume and held it out towards Lelouch. "He’s just trying to get inside your head."

Lelouch hesitated for a second but took the bottle. "Thanks..."

"I’m getting tired. We should get to bed." Jade locked the door.

Lelouch zoned out for a second but then snapped out of it. "Huh? Oh, yeah. You're right."

Jade got ready for bed.

Lelouch did the same

Right as they were about to sleep, Jade turned to Lelouch "You can do anything, Ms. Lelouch."

Lelouch embraced her and spoke to her over her shoulder. "Just please... don't ever leave my side. D-don't.." She held her tightly, not wanting to let go. (edited)

"Of course. I'll never leave you, Ms. Lelouch. I promise." Jade smiled and held onto her.

Lelouch still didn't let go. If Jade doesn't then she'll just fall asleep like this

They fell asleep. ((End chapter))

He records the number in his cell phone's contacts as "Plumber", then flushes the card down the toilet. After that, he goes to the kitchen. "...Maria?"

"...Are they gone?" Maria peeks out of a closet.

"It seems like it. I suppose you've already been untied, then."

"Yeah. By Mr. Schurdell." She nods weakly as she steps out.

"Schurdell? Was he one of the mercenaries?"

"No... He was tied up with me."

"...What did he look like?"

"Oh... Maybe he- Maybe he called himself Sean Niebel for you. He said he was posing as that."

"...Sean Niebel is his legal name, just so you're aware." He sighs. "Are you alright? Your mother said she was going to flee the country with you."

"Oh, that was..." Maria bit her lip. "Lelouch... Told her to do that."

He knits his brow. "Lelouch? Your friend?"

She nodded her head.

"...Why?"

"She said... All these things about how mom was the worst a-and... She could take care of me so much better and-" She started to cry.

"Oh my God. What?" His mouth is a little agape as he watches his daughter cry. "How does... huh? Just who does she think she is?" He's not quite sure how to process this, but one of his hands ends up gently resting on her shoulder.

She stares at the hand like she’s scared of it.

“…Maria. I understand that you’re scared, and confused. Things like these… happen sometimes. That’s fine. That’s okay. But you can’t let people push you around like this. Your classmates don’t know what your best interests are. If I knew you were home, none of this would have happened.”

"I shouldn’t… Be scared?"

“Jesus, no. You were tied up by a band of criminals with guns. You’d have to be insane to not be scared. I’m just trying to emphasize that… if you trusted your own judgment, this wouldn’t have happened. But now it has, and we have to deal with the fallout.”

"I don't... Understand." She admitted weakly.

"...Where is your mother?"

"Lelouch made her leave. I haven't... Seen her since."

"Do you still have her phone?"

"I only have mine."

"...So it was your mother who sent me those texts about leaving the country? What does she think happened to you?"

"Lelouch told her to. So… She did."

"Did she actually expect to leave the country with you?"

"No. She was just... Supposed to convince you not to look for me. That's what Lelouch said."

"And she went along with this? Why? Did she expect me not to find you in my own home?"

"..." Maria bites her lip.

"...It's fine. You don't have to answer that for her. Is she going to be home soon?"

"She's not... Supposed to ever come back." She continues to cry.

"..." He calls his wife again.

She doesn't pick up.

5:20 PM

"Mom, she..." Maria spoke slowly. "She loved me, right?"

"...Don't say 'loved'. She isn't dead yet. She isn't going to fucking die on us that easily." He leaves the kitchen, opening the front door and scanning outside.

"But she-" She stops talking once she sees Ouroboros leave the kitchen. The outside looks normal. No one is around anymore.

Are there any visible bullet holes anywhere?

There are a few

Yeah. He walks back into the kitchen. "Sorry for walking out on you like that. But she what?"

"Never mind. Sorry."

"...It's okay." He goes to the living room, and turns on the news. While listening, he opens his phone and scans for articles about him, his neighborhood and Sean Niebel. (edited)

Nothing.

He waits, refreshing the page until interrupted.

It never comes up.

"...Fascinating." He turns the TV off and checks what time it is.

It’s getting late.

He looks outside again. (edited)

Nothing unusual. Maria approaches him. "…Dad?"

He looks over his shoulder. "What's going on?"

"Oh! S-Sorry… Nothing."

He purses his lips. Poor girl. "No reason to apologize. What's on your mind?"

"Can you… Could you show me how to cook? …Please?"

He looks back outside, taking a long pause, garnished with a heavy breath out. "...I need you to promise me something first."

"…What?"

"Your mother has to come back at some point. Learning to cook isn't a simple process, and if we spend a lot of time doing it, it's likely that she'll come back in the middle of it. She's deathly afraid of the idea that you don't need her. If she sees you cooking, and she gets mad, I need you to shout in the most firm, crisp voice you can manage: 'fuck off'."

She looks alarmed at him.

"That's it. That's all I need you to do. You can run off to your room after, or whatever you feel comfortable with. I'll deflect her for you."

"I-I… I can’t! I’m sorry!"

"Yes you can." He crosses his arms. "Try it right now."

She starts shaking her head repeatedly.

He raises his eyebrows, looking away from her. "Take your time. You'll get there."

"…S-Sorry." She awkwardly steps out of the room.

As soon as she's gone, he shakes his head, stepping into the kitchen.

The kitchen looks normal.

He makes a piece of pizza toast, as he usually would. He leaves it on a plate, and places a written note next to it: "Pizza Toast ingredients: block of cheese, slice of bread, pepperoni Grate the cheese, and sprinkle it evenly over the top of the bread until you can mostly only see the crust. Place however much pepperoni you want on top. Set the toaster oven to Toast, and make sure the oven rack is positioned in the middle slot. Set the timer for 7 minutes, and after the timer goes off, take it out while wearing oven mitts. There's more food out there, if you find this isn't to your taste. The majority of it is closer to a simple puzzle than a complex art. If you're curious about any one in particular, don't be afraid to let me know." He goes back to the living room, and watches the news. (edited)

The news is talking about The Fungus, a strange man leading homeless people who broke into a police station earlier today.

"Hey, that's a good idea. Mushrooms on pizza." He laughs, just the smallest amount. The smile on his face doesn't last.

The news continues to cover the fungus and warns people about the danger posed by him. (edited)

He looks at the front door.

Nothing.

...It's getting late anyway. He goes upstairs and brushes his teeth. He remembers that he also has a working shower, and decides to make use of that too.

Maria is sitting on the stairs. "Oh, sorry…" She moves aside.

"...Have you eaten yet tonight, Maria?"

"…No."

"It's good to have dinner before you go to bed." He passes by her and takes the aforementioned actions.

"Can I… Stay here? Am I supposed to?"

"...Stay here on the stairs?"

"…Here." She motions to the rest of the house with her head.

"There is no 'supposed to'. If you had an active income, you'd be old enough to live on your own. But until then, staying here isn't a bad choice. Maybe ask your brother if he'll let you stay in one of his properties."

"But, Lelouch said…" She doesn’t finish that sentence.

"What Lelouch said doesn't matter. She doesn't even come close to understanding your needs."

"…Oh."

"...I hope that clears things up. Remember to eat."

"O-Okay."

He goes upstairs to finally brush and shower.

This happens uninterrupted this time.

When all's done, he crawls into bed and checks the news.

The only thing he hasn’t already heard about is the suspicious death of Shuichi Maoziwam’s butler.

Whatever. That does at least remind him that King Burger is back under his control. He'd have to start working on re-opening very soon. Potentially even tomorrow, assuming nothing else comes up, and he's seen the last of Raven's shitty little gaggle. He searches the address for King Burger's old location. Is it available for lease or anything?

((Roll))

((1.))

10:13 PM

((ability to remember the address decided by chance))

It’s been completely destroyed and absorbed into the Avengard mall. There’s nowhere available nearby.

"Fuck me." Well, that's fine. Anything for lease inside the mall itself? That's an easy way to get business, at least.

It’s all occupied.

It's not like this is a small city. He looks for leased buildings anywhere, prioritizing the parts of the city he knows to be busier, especially at lunchtime.

((Roll))

((15))

Ouroboros finds a pretty good spot.

He calls whatever number is associated with it, and asks to buy it.

This succeeds. It costs a lot of money, but not enough to create any problems for Ouroboros.

He then puts an ad up on several employment websites: HIRING IMMEDIATELY Looking for long-term employment as soon as possible? Are you seriously dedicated to helping local Avengard businesses flourish? King Burger is back, and with your assistance, it can be better than ever! Send your resumes now, because we're hiring IMMEDIATELY! Assembly line workers, janitors, and managers are all needed. Experience preferred, but not required. Pay will be discussed at a later date, but you MUST be available to work starting tomorrow, on [date] at 9 AM. We should need no more than 10 hours to renovate, and we plan to open immediately after. After this, he acts immediately in calling local suppliers for grills, deep friers, drink fountains, tables, chairs, ingredients, and so on. He's almost excessively thorough.

((Roll))

((5))

It doesn't exactly go great this late in the day.

He'll worry about it later. He'll be up early tomorrow, he's sure. ... He sighs, shakes his head, and attempts to sleep. (edited)

Ouroboros is awoken from his sleep again by noises downstairs.

What kind of noises?

Like someone is trying to break in.

... Ouroboros goes downstairs to see what the problem is.

Maria Sr. is trying to break the door down.

There you are. He unlocks it for her.

She glares at him with eyes full of fury as she silently walks in.

He looks back at her blankly. "...It's late. I'm tired. I have just as many questions as you do, don't even worry. Let's just deal with them tomorrow."

She suddenly hugs him and starts to sob.

An arm loops around her back, while the opposite hand gingerly combs over her scalp. He doesn't say anything, but slowly nods all the while.

She tries to speak but her words are incomprehensible.

He just keeps nodding, and brushing through her hair.

She lets go, walks into the kitchen, and attempts to chug wine.

He goes upstairs, and tries to sleep.

((End chapter))

Bob awoke in an unfamiliar bedroom.

I'm... Nathan Smith. Yes, Nathan Smith.

2:01 PM

Don't like Belto Shelk, Father is the Grandmaster.

2:01 PM

I have to keep remembering who I am.

2:02 PM

"So uh.... anyone here?"

No response.

"Jeez..... Guess I'm alone." (edited)

2:05 PM

"Hmmm...this kind of feels....nice."

2:07 PM

But wait. If I am supposed to be striving to be the perfect person....why DO I like living in a cramped room? And why did I like the fact that I was in that dilapidated apartment?

2:09 PM

Why can't I force myself to hate this place? I'm supposed to be out there being productive. That's what a perfect person is. (edited)

2:11 PM

Maybe it's a Bob thing? Maybe he loved homes. Probably some weird obsession that I will forget in future times.

2:12 PM

But.... this.... isn't....bad. Nathan lies down on the bed.

Bob does not have his phone.

Nathan begins to tear up.

2:22 PM

Y'know.. I could understand why Bob could even LIKE homes in the first place. Thinking about it, this whole youtube career has to have you work hard 24/7. Not to mention the questionable workforce. That's where he got the gunshot wounds, isn't it? I almost feel bad for the guy. (edited)

Knock, knock. Jackson's voice spoke from beyond the door. "Are you up?"

Nathan stops before he cries. "Uh, who is it"?

2:25 PM

Stupid Bob and his stupid oversensitivites. It could have been humiliating if I looked like that in front of whoever was knocking.

2:26 PM

Crying is for babies and no one else.

2:26 PM

I open the door. "Hello."

The door is locked, but trying to open it makes a sound. "I'll take that as a yes." He sounded exasperated. (edited)

"You doing alright? Don't seem to be in a proper mental state."

2:29 PM

"But considering whatever the fuck happened with Bob, none of you guys probably are." (edited)

2:31 PM

"Whats your name? I was said that I would be meeting a Jackson soon."

"Are you seriously doing whatever the hell this is again?"

"Did- did I do something? My name is Nathan. I've been trapped in the body of this guy named Bob Smith."

2:41 PM

"You can talk to the Kidink guy. I told everything about my situation to him." (edited)

2:43 PM

"What do you mean "doing whatever the hell this is again"? Does Bob have something wrong with him"?

He groaned. "Look... Are you going to behave?"

"Yes."

2:48 PM

"Anyways I should introduce myself. I am Nathan Smith. My father has talked about Team Nine before. He's been especially talking about this Jackson guy and how he fears my dad? He goes by the alias Grandmaster for clarification." (edited)

"Wh-What?"

"Yeah. He talked to me about it. He says it almost comical how scared you are of him. My dad is a pretty chill guy. A bit eccentric, sure. But the fact that you are terrified of him of all people is unbelivable. Must have been a bad road you took to get to that point." (edited)

His panicked breathing is hearable through the door. "You're lying! That doesn't even make any sense!"

"Yeah. Judging by that breathing of yours, you 100% know that what I'm saying makes sense."

2:55 PM

"Alright, I already know it's you, Jackson. I'm a person who strives for perfection. But I also want other people to strive for perfection too. So can we just talk this out together and maybe I will tell my dad to stop harassing you or something."

2:56 PM

"Honestly, its on the house. You sound like a shitty person, but I think there is somewhat of a chance we can sort something out." (edited)

The door unlocked with a click and Jackson opened the door. On the other side was the headquarters of Team Nine, a mansion Bob had been to once or twice.

"Hm. Neat living quarters."

3:00 PM

"Anyways, something weird happened to my original body, and I'm in his body? It's strange. If Bob really makes you that uncomfortable, I can just wear a mask."

"You are Bob! Magic isn't real." He took a deep breath.

"If I was Bob, how would I know about my father?"

3:03 PM

"I don't think magic is real either. But bear with me here."

3:03 PM

"Because I can easily end your life with a simple phone call to the hospital."

He stared at Bob in terror for a moment.

"Well, if you're not inclined to believe me, you are not inclined to believe. I guess spend the rest of your days being chased around, cat and mouse style." I walk back to the cell. "Maybe I'll rot in this prison, and die or something. I'm scared of death, but if I have to, I have to. It sucks that I would be left with a grieving father, though."

"Stop it! Just stop it!"

"Exactly. So look, can we just talk this out? We're running in circles."

3:16 PM

"Sorry for being so rude but, fuck this. I'm going back into my cell."

3:16 PM

I decide to glance at the mansion. What do I see? (edited)

It's just the normal Team Nine headquarters. A few of the members are hanging around. "Wait, no... Stop. I'm supposed to be showing you around."

"hm? alright then."

3:22 PM

"So what does a tour look like around here? Is there like a team nine museum or something"?

"You aren't allowed to leave this place. You can walk around, so long as you don't cause any trouble. Got it?"

"Alrighty then. But this won't solve your dilemma unless looking around is the piece of the puzzle."

3:30 PM

I decide to walk to a random location.

3:37 PM

Do I meet anyone?

((Roll))

3:41 PM

Bob opened another door to find Naomi Kidink tied up and gagged in a room like the one Bob had just left. "She's... Not as free." Jackson.

"Jesus. She better have had a good reason for this."

3:42 PM

"Oh yeah. Mafia. Well hopefully this is for a good cause."

3:42 PM

"Hey you! What's your story?"

3:43 PM

"Your the mother of Sam it seems? We met at the hostage exchange."

She continues to be gagged.

"Mafia disgust me. Mafia with families disgust me even more. How do you lie awake every day knowing that you are lying to your child every day of your life?"

"Bob, let’s just go." Jackson.

"Nathan."

3:51 PM

"Don't think you can just get away with your bailing your kid out as good parent points. You obviously treat your son like dirt. And the fact that you got him captured in the first place says miles about you too."

3:52 PM

"Why do people have to choose fame and fortune over the course of family and love? It makes no sense. Do you want your kid to be alone? Do you want to end up shot in the stomach like the body I'm in?"

3:54 PM

Nathan feels like Bob for a split second.

"I don’t have a son!"

"Disowning your own child is despicable."

3:55 PM

Bob realizes something in his head.

3:57 PM

Do I want fame and fortune? Or family? What was everything I've done up to this point for? Did I really want to be a star, or did I really just need love? A home?

3:58 PM

Did I make up the Grandmaster as my father in order to feel like I was powerful? Or was it because it was a way to feel good about having a father figure in my life?

4:00 PM

Why do I keep wanting to be someone better? Was it because I want to be successful? Or because it replaces the family that I never had in my life? (edited)

4:00 PM

Bob becomes Nathan again.

4:00 PM

"I miss my father."

"You fath- The Grandmaster, who isn't your father, is in prison."

((who says this))

4:04 PM

"But I saw him recently. What did he get arrested for"?

4:06 PM

"Why do I trust you to know who is my father and what isn't? Everyone treats everyone like shit!" I turn to Naomi. "You treat your kid like shit"! (edited)

4:07 PM

"You treat everyone like shit! You have no love in your life, Naomi."

4:11 PM

"And judging how you react nonchalantly despite everything I say about your personal life to cut into you, this supports my hypothesis."

4:12 PM

"I butt into everyone's private life, because that's what a family is about. I hurt their souls because I care about everyone."

Bob Smith

((who says this))

Jackson is the only person outside of Bob/Nathan who can speak in this conversation.

((FUCK))

Bob Smith

"But I saw him recently. What did he get arrested for"?

"He’s been in prison for a decade." Jackson.

"And what for"?

"Whatever it is, this doesn't change that I met him at the hospital."

"How do you not know about the Edlightenment mass murder?"

"And this definitely doesn't change the fact that you are still scared of him."

4:23 PM

"Edlightenment... mass murder....."?

4:24 PM

"Inquire me."

"Just don’t worry about it." Jackson.

"Well whatever it is, we are family. The Grandmaster still hospitalized me no matter what happened to him."

4:35 PM

"Now let's go look at something else. She's making me sick. She looks kind of sick too."

4:37 PM

I decide to travel to another location.

4:38 PM

((9))

The rest of the mansion is a normal house.

"Jackson, do you love this job?"

4:54 PM

"I understand it makes you money, but. Does it make you happy"?

4:54 PM

"Do you think you have made friends? Or just enemies"?

That seemed to hit a sore spot. "At least I have Team Nine."

"If someone was having a hard time, and having trouble doing your best, would you stop and help them and make sure their doing fine, or let them screw up and edit it later"?

5:01 PM

"You say you have team nine, but yet when you greeted what was the illusion of Bob Smith, you reacted in utter disgust."

5:01 PM

"Would you help Bob Smith?"

"If you’re going to lie, don’t be so transparent about it." He looked away.

"What if Bob did everything he did you hated because he was the only person that cared about anyone but himself"?

5:07 PM

"What if Bob went insane, because when only sign he showed of genuine care and respect was immediately met with a gunshot"?

"I care about him- You! I care about you, but you’re just insufferable! Do you think I choose to lock you in here like this!? I never wanted any of this!"

((ok sorry))

5:38 PM

((I came back))

5:40 PM

"Bob cared about you". Nathan Smith is gone. "I cared about you."

5:41 PM

"I was grown up in a place full of lies! People do whatever they want to do for the sake of comedy. You felt horrible. You were scared, I had to save you!"

5:42 PM

"The only role model I ever had in my life was a douchebag who punched a person and threw him out"!

5:42 PM

"There was no call for rationality. But it was the only sign of alien respect that caused me to go through what. This ideology of trust? And then when that failed, the idea that all trust in this world is bad"? (edited)

5:44 PM

"This place is run through fear! I did all of this because I was scared! You did this because you were scared"!

5:45 PM

"We're trapped in a system that alienates the concept of simple relationships! We lost ourselves in our own fantasies"!

5:47 PM

"Jackson. We are not bad people by chance. None of what we did was our fault"!

5:48 PM

"We have to get rid of the system. We have to live in a world of peace! Not war!"

5:48 PM

"This time. I will save you for real. This time we will save everybody! We must start a rebellion against the world that oppresses our humanity."

"I can’t understand a word you’re saying! It’s- It’s all gibberish! Are you trying to mock me? Is this all a big prank to you, and I’m the victim? World that opp- What the hell does that even mean? How could our humanity even be oppressed! What does that even mean!" He stepped away. "Just… You know the rules of this place. Don’t do anything stupid. Don’t try to leave. J-Just leave me alone for now."

"What is so complex about knowing that you did everything to me not out of love, but fear"? (edited)

5:58 PM

"I've been hearing this complaint from you a lot. That I "can't be understood". That I "make no sense."

5:59 PM

"I lied to you about my connections to the grandmaster, yet to let me out of my cell to wander around."

6:00 PM

"Is that not an example of what I have been saying, that simple lies causes you to do crazy things"?

Ehn/PC

((im getting concerned if jackson doesn't know what the fuck im talking about because you dont know what Im saying))

6:03 PM

((did. did he do it yet again

))

((It is absurd but it wouldn’t be Bob Smith if it wasn’t absurd. I can vaguely follow))

6:05 PM

"Just shut up! Shut up!" Jackson moved away from him. "I don’t want to have to deal with your headache-inducing speeches. I should be living rich and famous, but I have to babysit a lunatic instead!"

"I may be a lunatic, but you know what, I'm a lunatic who cares. I'm a lunatic who wants to understand people, unlike you."

6:07 PM

"It took me a while to realize that too, and I shot you before coming to that conclusion, but I won't ever let that happen again." (edited)

"What’s the point! Am I supposed to feel bad for you!? What does that get me! Either way, you’re either stuck here in this prison or we’re both dead!? Should I feel miserable that your life is like this as I can do nothing to fix it? Is that supposed to be better?"

"If we both have to die, that's fine. Because what we're living in isn't going to make us happy."

6:09 PM

"if we both die, we have made a statement to our world that we're tired of living in a world where everyone is out there for themselves"!

"I don’t want to die! I want to live! I want to live at the top of the world! I want to be rich and successful! I can’t die just to be free! Freedom is meaningless. I don’t get anything from it. Riches, fame, they’ve got nothing to do with freedom or happiness. They’re the reward at the end of this long and painful tunnel. And I’m gonna make it to the end of that tunnel, because it’s the only thing I can do! So don’t go telling me to kill myself because you feel bad no one loves you." He took a deep breath.

"I WONDER WHY I THINK THAT KILLING OURSELVES IS AN ACT OF LOVE. BECAUSE NO ONE EVER IS OUT FOR ME TO TELL ME WHAT LOVE EVEN IS"!

6:14 PM

I punch jackson hard in the face.

6:15 PM

((11))

Jackson recoiled from the punch, and took a moment to breathe. He looked right at Bob. And then he just left.

I check for the expression he had.

It’s not really easily interpreted. Some mix of pity, anger, resignation, and guilt.

Bob smith bolts out of the mansion.

6:29 PM

"The interview..... the interview.... Shawn Duvelt...."

The door is locked.

I have to save Jackson. I trust Jackson Day to be saved. I have to save Jackson. I trust Jackson Day to be saved.

6:30 PM

"Damnit."

6:31 PM

"What is... there for me to do over here now"?

6:31 PM

"hm. I'll talk to Naomi Kidink again."

6:31 PM

I run to that section.

Naomi Kidink continues to be tied up and gagged in that room.

I remove her gag.

6:36 PM

"Hello."

6:37 PM

"I'm actually Bob, of course. I apologize for whatever I have said about murdering your kid. I have learned my lesson."

6:37 PM

"I am not sorry, however for the things I have said to you about how you treat your child." (edited)

She sighed. "Do you have a phone?"

"no."

"Can you get one?"

"Not after giving out confidential information to Sam, probably not." (edited)

"Just try to steal one, or something. I know someone who can fix all of this."

"I will do that later. But I ungagged you because I want you to know that your son is unhealthy."

6:47 PM

"Sam views the world as nothing but a mystery. He has no apathy for anyone but himself, except for the one person who he womanizes. Anything that he doesn't view as interesting is something that he decides to leave behind, no matter the circumstances. I was bleeding to death after Jackson shot me, and he left me for dead. He didn't even come to Jackson's aid when he was also in a bad state, even if he wasn't grievously injured. Now I don't want to point to any names, but I will do that because holy shit. The lack of apathy and care for anybody can literally be connected to how you treat your kid." (edited)

6:49 PM

"Which is why I have a supposition. I want to start a rebellion. I want to save everyone from the freedom that was taken away from everybody. I want you to join me, and together we can save your son."

"My son can’t be saved, and I don’t intend to take part in your revolution. Don’t waste my time."

"Your son can be saved, all he needs is love."

6:52 PM

"But considering that you don't have any love for him",

6:52 PM

I put the gag back on.

6:53 PM

"I guess this is something I'll have to figure out on my own."

She angrily grunts behind the gag.

6:55 PM

((You should watch Gotham))

((eventually.))

6:56 PM

I desperately look for a phone.

((Roll))

((8))

No sign of a phone.

"Damn".

6:58 PM

"I wonder if they have my suit captive somewhere".

6:58 PM

"Which should have my phone".

7:02 PM

I search.

((Roll))

((8))

No sign of the suit.

"What is there to do... perhaps I can fall unconscious?..."

7:06 PM

"No."

7:06 PM

"Doing that like all the other times is submitting to my own fears. My panic attacks." (edited)

7:07 PM

I search for a team nine member.

There’s a few around.

I search for one with a gunshot wound on their arm. (edited)

((Roll))

((19))

That guy is there.

"hi".

7:34 PM

"I uh. Am very sorry for shooting you."

"Oh, uh. I don’t forgive you."

"Can you give me your phone"?

"What? No."

"Do you think your job is cool"?

7:40 PM

"So I take that as a yes." I kick him in the groin. (edited)

((Roll))

((14))

He falls over cries out in pain.

I steal his phone. (edited)

He does indeed have a phone.

"Sorry. But if you do want to change your mind about your job, call me"! (edited)

7:46 PM

I rush back to Naomi.

7:46 PM

"OK! Who do I call"?

She is still gagged.

i ungag her.

"You piece of shit! Never gag me again!"

"Tell me the number, please". (edited)

She says the number. "Her name is Sarah. Sarah Stanley."

I call her. (edited)

Team Nine members barge into the room with guns, led by Jackson. "Hello?" Sarah picked up.

7:50 PM

((Session end))

((How was the session.....))

((I liked it))

7:51 PM

((Jackson debate was fun to write))

((YAY. you should change the channel to Bob now))

((No))

7:55 PM

((This will make sense in due time I suppose))

((pacing "fans" when bob smith suddenly comes up with the idea to start a revolution in one single session)) (edited)

((i'll justify this somehow))

((Saturday))

((Bloop why are you so repulsed in reading my session....))

((Do you hate me .. ))

((Its kind of funny how little belto shelk influences bob despite his hatred for him being one of his main traits))

((Belto Shelk would never be dumb background lore))

((Bob smith would never be directionless))

((Fuck you bloop. I don't need no man.))

((Boob smith))

((Tomorrow...))

Team Nine members barge into the room with guns, led by Jackson. "Hello?" Sarah picked up.

"Hello. This is a long message. I may die soon. But please don't hang up."

2:03 PM

"I never knew who I wanted to be. I never knew who I was really inside. I didn't have an identity. No friends no family."

"Hang up!" Jackson.

2:05 PM

"What? Sorry, I think you have the wrong number." Sarah.

"I thought that if I followed the crowd I would find my identity. I became a youtuber. I tried to seek a fast pull of contradictions to feel something."

2:06 PM

"But now I realized, that if you want to be loved, you will have to learn how to love yourself. You make up your own identity and not anyone else."

2:07 PM

"I love myself because I speak weirdly. I love myself because I invade other people's privacy. There is no fault to blame on people who make mistakes, it's only a tool to push us forward to finding who we really are."

2:08 PM

"And I want to spread this message to the world. The meaning of self-acceptance: Your flaws are meaningful."

She hung up.

Bob visibly shudders. "That wasn't a message dedicated to her. It was dedicated to you all!"

2:11 PM

"Were you really going to shoot me? Even after everything I've just said to her? You GUYS do have it! You guys DO have a humanity inside"! (edited)

2:12 PM

"CMON EVERYONE! WE'LL RIGHT THE WRONGS OF THIS WORLD IN OUR OWN FLAWED IMAGE"!

2:13 PM

"Shoot me if you like. You're putting an illusion if you are trying to shoot me for the betterment of what. A corporation? This is the equivalent of my panic attacks."

2:14 PM

"A giant army could oppress the entire team nine system that we have been crushed upon? And yet you waste your lives shooting at one person"?

((Roll))

((20))

"We don't want to shoot you Bob! That's what you never seem to get!" Jackson couldn't look him in the eye. "If we stop listening and fighting back, we're going to die! There is no fighting this system! You wanna kill yourself, that's your decision to make! But I wanna live!"

"Dying happy or living sad. For once, I finally know why people do kill themselves."

2:24 PM

"Fair point then." I walk up to Jackson. "I want you to kill me." (edited)

2:26 PM

"CMON JACKSON! You've won the battle." (edited)

2:26 PM

"Actually, is the team nine-member who I shot at Hav Kerloe's fishery there? Please raise your hand." (edited)

No one raises their hand. Jackson raises the gun to Bob's head. "Are you sure you want me to pull the trigger?" (edited)

"Yes."

2:33 PM

"I'll make it easier for you to hate me. I haven't done all that supposedly "horrible" to you lately."

2:33 PM

I slap jackson in the face.

2:36 PM

"The earth is a place where humans don't exist anymore, do they"?

2:36 PM

I slap jackson in the face backhanded.

2:36 PM

"I trust you to do the right thing."

He clutched his face and backed away. "..." He slowly put the gun down. "Fuck."

"Do the right thing". It sure is a word that can mean more than one way."

2:42 PM

"The earth is a place where humans certainly don't exist, but it doesn't mean they can't."

2:42 PM

"I accept you as family. I accept everyone as family! But if you want to live your lives getting rich, so be it."

"Shut up! Just stop talking." Jackson clutched his head.

"I have a proposition."

2:46 PM

"Release me. As I said, you can live your lives rich and happy. But I will be protesting and saving peoples lives out there, along with a new youtube channel in my tow. "Shaur Mann" rolls off the tongue, doesn't it? Think of this as an ideological battle instead of a real battle." (edited)

2:48 PM

"If push comes to shove, you may kill me. But the legacy may die so quick." (edited)

"Bob, I'm not shooting you because I want you to live. I'm not shooting you because we aren't allowed to kill you. It was just... It was all supposed to scare you, and then you'd listen until they figured something out."

"Does this change anything that i've said about the problems of you and this entire establishment? Doing things for a better good still doesn't take away the fact that you did all that. In fact, that supports my hypothesis even more." (edited)

"No, but you couldn't ask me to understand that beyond stupid moralizing bullshit. It's sickening. I swear every time I hold this gun now, I just hear your whiny voice begging me to stop in the back of my mind."

"And whats this about scaring me? You could have almost killed me!" I pull up my shirt.

"So am I really superhuman? A robot? I really don't care if you shot me because I would live that. In fact, that might be worse. That's dehumanizing!" (edited)

"No, these guys are just... Really dumb. The whole Kerloe Fishery situation almost tanked the entire operation. And that whole situation at your house, I thought I was already dead. But now, if we let even 1 drop of your blood spill, all of us are probably dead."

"I thought I was already dead".

3:16 PM

"I though... that I was already dead"?...

"Yeah, didn't we all." Jackson.

"You shot me, and Sam came after. I didn't have any weapons."

3:20 PM

"Oh what, was Sophie going to kill you"?

3:20 PM

"A kid"?

"No, it was... No one was supposed to know about 'Bob Smith'. The Sophie girl, her dad's like a big news show host. We thought you'd collaborate and ruin everything."

"Collaborate? And ruin everything"?

3:22 PM

"What does that mean? Why did you need my identity"?

3:24 PM

"You know what, I'm not solving the mystery. I'm looking like Sam right now."

3:25 PM

"People are not defined by anything but their actions."

3:25 PM

"Can...can I just talk to whoever is running the joint"?

"You already did. Well, you talked to the highest member anyone knows. You won't find the boss."

"Highest member anyone knows"?

3:26 PM

"Is that the guy who i shot in the arm who I also kicked in the groin"?

"No, I'm talking about... You know, Jeff. The guy with the cigarette. That's pretty much his main identifying trait."

"Could I speak to him? I want a piece of his mind."

3:31 PM

"I can't believe i was so close to interacting with the mastermind."

3:32 PM

((what the fuck was that dontatmey))

3:33 PM

"And don't get me wrong. That thing about "Shaur Man"? it will be real."

3:33 PM

I turn to Naomi Kidink.

3:34 PM

"You interacted with Jeff, right? Where is he?" (edited)

Naomi continues to be gagged. "It will not be real, Bob. You can't leave this place."

I ungag naomi.

3:37 PM

"You interacted with jeff right? Where is he?"

"Call her back! Call for her help, you idiot!" Naomi.

"You make the call."

"I'm tied up!" Naomi.

"In concept, you shouldn't be calling, and in fact you should be the one being opposed by me for being a mafia head. Yes you heard it right everyone she's a mafia head"!

3:41 PM

"But whatever."

3:41 PM

I dial the number.

3:42 PM

I put the call next to Naomi.

"I'm not!" Naomi. "What? No she's not." Jackson. "She's just a lawyer."

3:42 PM

"Also, hang up the phone." Jackson.

Ehn/PC

"I'm not!" Naomi. "What? No she's not." Jackson. "She's just a lawyer."

"Who the fuck cares? You treat your kid like shit which is also another problem in itself."

3:43 PM

"I'm not hanging up the phone, and I'm tired of making arguments. You'll get it eventually, I'm sure of it."

3:43 PM

I dial the number, and put the phone next to Naomi's mouth.

3:44 PM

((does it call))

"I know. I'm already here." Sarah picks up. "You can stop being an impatient hag." An explosion rings out, and the mansion shakes. "What. What the fuck?" Jackson.

"HUH"?!

3:53 PM

"Well, even more reason to get out of this wrectched place. Enjoy living your life... like this I guess, Mrs. Kidink." (edited)

3:53 PM

I run out of the mansion.

3:55 PM

"I'll unlock the door for you guys! Prehaps there is also a metaphorical door too."

The door has been blown open. This girl is standing there, with a gun. "Okay, which side are you on?" She aims it at Bob.

"I'm on no ones side."

3:59 PM

"I just want to be on the side that does good."

4:00 PM

"I'm against these guys." I point to team nine. (edited)

4:01 PM

"But i also don't want all of them dead."

4:01 PM

"At least for now."

"Where's Naomi? The bitchy one."

"she should be over there."

4:07 PM

I run out of the door.

"Don't go too far." She called after him as he ran.

4:11 PM

Bob is now. In a really big yard.

"I'LL GO AS FAR AS I PLEASE"!

4:12 PM

I run all over the place in order to find someone.

There is a lot of gunfire from inside the team 9 mansion.

Sentasaurus keeps running.

4:21 PM

"I'M GONNA SAVE THE WORLD!!!!!!!!!! WOOOO!!!!!!!!!!"

4:22 PM

"And what's the point of talking like this? I was born to talk confusing. No Darfee or Eefrad or Stan will criticize me."

4:23 PM

"Ah."

4:23 PM

"That's better"

4:23 PM

"I wanted to talk like this for a while."

Bob reaches the street.

"Shit."

4:23 PM

"Where do I go from here"?

4:24 PM

"The school."

4:24 PM

"THE SCHOOL"!

4:24 PM

"I HAVE TO MEET SHAWN"!

4:24 PM

Bob travels to the school. (edited)

There are many schools in this city.

"Fucking".

4:25 PM

"I'll try a random one."

4:25 PM

Bob picks a random school and runs widly to it.

((Roll))

((6))

This school is closed.

4:37 PM

For the day, not like. Permanently.

"Damnit."

4:38 PM

"What now."

4:38 PM

"I don't even have a phone to contact somebody."

4:38 PM

"Maybe I will go to Kerloe Fishery to see where Sam is."

4:38 PM

"That oughta do it."

4:39 PM

"Hav is always there."

4:39 PM

I go to Kerloe Fishery.

((Pause for a bit while mvdy catches up))

((god DAMNIT hav))

((is he alive))

((Yeah he’s pretty close I think))

((hes still active right))

((He was when I said that,))

((if worse comes to worse the session can end here if he doesn't show up for a long time))

6:19 PM

((how was the session today))

((so I guess it stops here then))

8:02 PM

((makeup or saturday again?))

((Saturday))

((Are you still here, Sent))

((Yeah))

8:28 PM

((Im at practice but I will be home soon))

8:28 PM

((Set me up with hav so when I come back I can do it))

Hav was working in the fish store.

((Go here))

mvdy

:havekerloenextsession:

Jump

Go to message!

Hav is in the stairs.

I continue running UP the stairs. What was that? Why did my brother take out a gun? What's going on? No... It's fine. I'm not concerned about this. I can't let a slight derailment in events affect me. I need to check the time. It's still early, right? I should probably see if I can still open the store today. That's important, of course.

It is indeed still fairly early.

Ah, I know. If I take the elevator, I can use the button trick to make sure I get there by the time my brother is gone. Perfect.

4:29 PM

I exit the stairwell at the 25th floor and call the elevator to go down.

The elevator opens to reveal Ethfan in it.

Does he say anything?

"What are you standing there for?"

"Um... Um... Nothing, I was just confused..."

"Just avoid that girl. Alright? You're really terrible at this." He walked away.

"Which one?"

"All of them!"

"Okay.

Ethfan left.

I guess it won't be necessary to use the elevator, then. I head to the stairs.

The lobby is empty when Hav arrives there.

I head to work, as always. Hopefully I'm not too late.

The store is empty.

((Hi))

((HI SORRY))

8:15 PM

((BEFORE YOU INTERRUPT ME LET ME DO A MONOLOGUE PLEASE SORRY))

Another normal day of work. My brother is fine, that's good. I'm not sure why it's good, but I know it is. The apartment seems to be fine too, and I can only hope that someone's mind was awakened thanks to my actions yesterday. I suppose I won't be able to dress in the same way as that person anymore... It would be too great a risk. My brother knows what he's talking about, I have to trust him. It's unfortunate, but...it must be done. Lessening one's ability to be unrecognizable is never good, but...safety comes first. I still have a lot to learn, it seems. I can't let what's been happening get to me. It's good that I was able to make it to work on time, as missing a day would be bad. I'm sure my brother is paying attention to if I show up or not, right? It's clear that, regardless of what happens, the day goes back to being ordinary in the end. Nothing ever changes. Perhaps my decision to put on the bandages and suit was too rebellious. It's paradoxical, as the intent was for it to be the opposite—to be submitting myself to the whims of the world. Yet, here I am, denied my opportunity to do so. I wonder what the reason is.

After a little while, Bob Smith entered the store.

:havekerloenextsession:

8:29 PM

(( Is it Bob Smith or The Elusive Sentasaurus. ))

((Bob))

8:30 PM

((Give me 30 minutes))

((I'm coming home soon))

((IM HERE))

9:30 PM

"Hello."

9:30 PM

"I'm uh."

9:30 PM

"Very sorry about that moment we had ago."

9:32 PM

"While I don't know for sure if I'm a robot or not, I think going insane wasn't exactly a good thing".

[inner monologue] It's the man from before. I gave him a meal for free last time, didn't I? That was definitely real, my brother mentioned it. There's nothing out of the ordinary about him, though. I don't see a reason to take note of this encounter and treat it any differently from any other customer. I can only assume he is here because he loved the sample I provided, and I hope he will come back in the future." "Good morning. What would you like to order?"

"Uh, order?"

9:34 PM

"Sure".

9:34 PM

"I guess."

"Yes, what?"

I realized that talking to Hav Kerloe was going to be a lot harder than I thought.

9:35 PM

"Uh."

9:35 PM

Bob points to a random menu order.

9:36 PM

I won't go on a murderous tangent just because he was dismissive to me like last time. I've learned that I have my problems, and he has his problems.

"The tuna tartare combo?" I pull the meal in question out. "Here is your fish. That will be $X.XX. Thank you for shopping at Kerloe Fishery."

But how will I get him to talk to him normally?

9:37 PM

"Th thank you." Bob almost walks out of the door.

9:37 PM

"No."

9:37 PM

"Wait."

9:37 PM

"fuck"

9:37 PM

"Uh I have a question."

Bob Smith

"Th thank you." Bob almost walks out of the door.

((Did you pay?))

((not yet))

9:38 PM

"You don't happen to remember"

9:38 PM

"The events of last time"

"You need to pay for that."

"Alright then."

9:38 PM

Bob searches for a wallet.

9:39 PM

Damnit.

9:40 PM

I just want Sam's location.

9:40 PM

This guys going to be hard to push through.

9:40 PM

Just like that Eefrad guy. Preview

Bob Smith

Bob searches for a wallet.

@Ehn/PC ((I got a 1. does he have anything.))

Bob does not have his wallet.

I take the meal and place it back in the display fridge.

This guy is not mentally, mentally, there.

9:47 PM

Fuck

9:47 PM

I guess I'll have to tell him bluntly.

9:47 PM

"Sam's location. Do you know where Sam is."?

9:47 PM

"Have you seen him anywhere since the last time we met"?

"I haven't seen him since a few days ago." (edited)

"Did you see him doing anything since the last time we met."

9:48 PM

"Did he tell you anything".

"No."

"I have a question for you. Are... you okay."?

"Yes."

"It always seems like you're trying to put on a mask of professionalism, but it makes things really obvious you are not okay."

"Are you going to pay for a meal or not?"

"I came here to talk, and you just. Bombarded me with a bunch of monotonous robot questions."

9:51 PM

"See? Like right there!"

9:52 PM

"Days ago, I was shot. And not even an "are you okay?". I am fine now, but that's concerning that you barely care about the people who visit you often."

9:53 PM

"I came to talk about Sam."

9:53 PM

"But I also wanted to talk about his mental health."

9:53 PM

"Do you also not care that he has been missing for a few days"?

[inner monologue] Hmm... I feel as if this person is very intelligent. He sees my words as "monotonous", and he's right. Everything I say is as such, to minimize any outliers in occurrences. Not many people are able to see through that. When they do, I have to pretend to act oblivious, so they underestimate me. If someone as smart as this person continues to see my words for what they truly are, the world may never be able to move on. As long as I think through everything I say, I will be able to control this conversation and lead this person in the right direction. I will be disappointed if he doesn't end up buying a meal, but it's fine. He needs to see fish as something desirable, and if I give him two free meals, it will condition him into expecting them for free always. While I don't need to be paid, in this case, it's necessary for a long-term commitment. Now, how about my response? He seems to be disappointed that I didn't ask how he was doing. His injury was irrelevant, but to him it mattered. Therefore I must find an excuse for not noticing it. If I say I didn't recognize him, that should be believable. His face wasn't visible for very long, and it was dark out. There's also the matter of Sam—it's true that he is here regularly, but him not showing up doesn't mean I'd assume something's wrong. That seems illogical, even from the perspective of someone ignorant. Therefore, I will mention that I did not know about this. I should also express concern here—people are often worried when someone else is in danger, even someone they don't know very well. I have no idea why, but it will be a useful inclusion to make myself seem inconspicuous. "I'm sorry, I didn't recognize you from before. It won't happen again. And I wasn't aware Sam was missing. I hope he is found soon."

"Why do you talk so fast"?

10:03 PM

"You know what,"

10:03 PM

"Lets stop talking about this."

10:03 PM

"And fucking"

10:03 PM

"Talk about something else".

[inner monologue] Is it possible that this person is slow-witted? If I do need to respond again, I should try to make my words more understandable, in that case. There's no point in saying anything if it can't be understood. I smile at Robert and say nothing.

"Why do you run a fish store"?

10:06 PM

"Do you really run it because you love fishing"?

[inner monologue] I've answered this question many times. Coming up with an excuse for why I'm here is easy. He told me his assumption, so I'll give him exactly what he expects to hear. I noticeably slow down the speed that I speak when saying this: "Yes, I've always loved fishing."

"Fishing requires passion. Not professionalism. You talk nothing about cooking and how you love your fish in your voice".

10:10 PM

"If a family member or forcing you to do this, or your forcing yourself to do it for them, that's okay. That's why I'm here".

[inner monologue] Passion? Is that what he wants? I'll give him passion. I can't believe he'd question this. I do care about fish. They represent the most important thing in existence. They are the thing that awakened me, the reason I am able to live. I can't tell him that, I can't explain the real reason why I care. But I can tell him other things. Do I really seem like I'm not interested? That... That wouldn't be good. I have to be seen as interested. I... Because it's important to show how... No... Never mind. It's... It makes perfect sense. I'm passionate because I understand the truth. I can't control that, because I'm human. I'm excited about something I'm interested in. That's right. People are excited about things they care about. That's why I do this. It's not a logical thing to do, but it's a necessary human action. There's no point in fighting back against that, that would be an attempt at differentiating myself. I'm being passionate because it's natural. I have to continue to be passionate, because everyone is passionate. If I'm not passionate, it wouldn't be normal. That's the reason why. "Cooking is wonderful. I do love fish. And how DARE you suggest otherwise. I don't constantly talk about things I'm passionate about, that would be ridiculous. Why should I need to prove that to someone?" I take a deep breath. "Regardless, I will prove it." I begin to verbalize recipes for seafood dishes (both the ingredients and how to prepare them) from memory.

"So I guess you are interested in the culinary arts."

10:27 PM

"But there's one thing that you don't have to call yourself passionate."

10:27 PM

"Cooking and fishing like any other occupation requires social interaction."

10:28 PM

"You can't live your life being cold and calculated. Especially in a sport like fishing."

10:29 PM

"AND cooking too."

10:31 PM

"If you live your life with poor communication when something wrong happens who will there be to help"?

((End session))

((yeah))

[inner monologue] So, he's worried about me? I suppose that makes sense. This, again, comes back to the problem from before—he assumes I am a certain way because I was unwilling to display emotion to him. I'm not sure what else to do in order to make him stop thinking this. I'll have to continue trying to give him what he wants to hear. "Thank you for the advice. I appreciate it."

Bob Smith stands in utter awe of Hav Kerloe's attitude towards everything.

1:36 PM

Huh.

Hav Kerloe smiles at Bob Smith.

So I see why Sam Kidink is like this.

1:38 PM

His mom is neglectful, therefore,

1:38 PM

He considers Hav Kerloe as a normal and healthy friendship.

1:39 PM

Despite showing that he puts his work toward any type of social interaction there is.

1:39 PM

"Hey. In a few weeks, can you check out this youtube channel named "Saur Mann"?

1:39 PM

"Check the internet every day if there is a "Saur Mann" on there. Seeing how you machine learning seems better suited for you." (edited)

1:40 PM

"uh"

1:40 PM

"Can you lend me some money."

"I know you heard me. Can you lend me some money"?

"I don't use the internet."

"Okay cool. Can you lend me some money"?

"No, sorry."

What was I thinking when wanting to talk to him?

2:08 PM

That he'd help me? Fat chance. (edited)

2:08 PM

That's what the media is for.

2:09 PM

"Bye."

"Have a good day."

Bob walks out of the entrance to Kerloe Fishery, but only at the enterance.

2:09 PM

Bob kicks the wall of Kerloe Fishery.

"Please don't do that."

Bob leaves.

Hav Kerloe is alone in the fish store.

This is true.

That sure was a normal encounter. I hope he brings payment for the fish next time—it would be bad if he continued simply observing the fish without consuming them. That's a way you can end up warping your perspective.

It would indeed be terrible if Hav Kerloe's hard work in preparing fish received no payment or enjoyment for his customers. Of course, it’s obvious fact that Hav enjoys preparing these fish for his own sake, but most people would not be positively receptive to the notion that work they put in, no matter the motivation, would be so openly swept aside. Of course, this goes beyond just Hav. There are many steps along the way between catching the fish, and it’s end state of becoming eaten. Every step of the way requires devoted workers, people who may even be risking life and limb at sea for these creatures. And each of these workers is moving a gear forward. Alone, they don’t accomplish anything at all. But through careful effort, they manage to turn the whole machine forward and produce fish for consumption. Through his actions, Nathan has disrespected not just Hav but all of these people. That’s my opinion on the topic, at least.

I don't do anything because nothing has happened.

And nothing continues to happen. Quite a boring day indeed. Naturally, a boring period of time should usually be skipped over, or interrupted by something interesting. But this is fine. I want to experience this for once.

I have no more relevant thoughts.

2:31 PM

Or thoughts at all, for that matter.

This is a funny description. 'I' is clearly a first person pronoun, indicating that this is from his perspective. He’s clearly not saying it out loud, so that should indicate this is a thought he is having. A burst of language in an endless void of fish. Yet simultaneously, he claims to have no thoughts at all. Is he speaking to himself, instructing himself of silence? Or does this posit a more metaphorical meaning. That’s pretty fucking stupid.

2:38 PM

But also rather dull. There’s nothing to dissect here. No grand discourse on the meaning of life through the lens of fish, no such interesting ideology. It’s just a man standing there, waiting. Silent. Thoughtless. Why? What is he doing? Is be waiting for something? Were I to vanish, refuse him any kind of prompt, how long would it take for individual unprovoked action. Would it ever come?

I wonder if there's a new Carlfield today.

Fascinating. Free will entirely directed towards a cartoon cat. Though, obviously, Carlfield is an exact metaphor for all reality, Hav should have absolutely no idea of this. Is this coincidence? A burst of genius? Collective unconscious? No, this is likely pure narrative contrivance. There’s no real miracle at play here. Hm. Well, while we’re here, why not?

2:46 PM

Hav conceives this hypothetical Carlfield in his mind.

Ah... Now this a brilliant work. There's so much depth here. If I were to summarize this strip, I would describe it as a symbol of how the unrelenting pressure of individuality conflicts with the world's natural order. Carlfield, as is obvious, represents life as it truly is. He represents a struggle to understand the self, a struggle to accept your place in reality. His owner, James, is, in short, confused. He's an ordinary human in the presence of such an indescribable power, and he subconsciously copes with what this results in. The individual, non-concurrent shenanigans that occur show just how volatile their lives are. With the knowledge of the true contents of cat food, an entirely new dimension of analysis is unlocked. This strip revolves around food. In the first panel, health. Things that James believes will make him stronger. Broccoli, spinach, brussels sprouts, tofu, and raisins. All of these are things that Carlfield cannot bear the existence of. There's no reason to be against "healthy" foods. Taste is irrelevant to a being with as much power as Carlfield. The utter incoherence of his desire to maintain the human norms of "good taste = good food" and "bad taste = bad food" is baffling, and this is clearly a conscious choice on John David's part. The "SMACK" in the second panel—what an unbelievable moment. This is a clear representation of the shift in roles, the way Carlfield's smack acts as a punishment for James, the way James's tongue extends to an over-exaggerated length, just like an animal's would. In this moment, James has become the pet, and Carlfield has become the owner. The fragility of the hierarchy between these two beings is put on full display here. After this shift, despite James taking the same actions he does in the first panel, it becomes clear that there is now an entirely different system governing their world. Three pats, and a thought that James is a "good boy"—Carlfield, with a single smack, has taken full control of the situation, being able to destroy what society held up in an instant. The metaphorical can of cat food has been opened, revealing the fish inside. James, now under the control of Carlfield, returns to writing his list, this time writing foods that Carlfield believes he likes. The key word there is "believes"—Carlfield is a cat, and thus is entirely unburdened by what human perception deems as good or bad. Yet, he still undergoes the same rituals. He places himself in the role of a human and acts out a facsimile of one. In doing this, John David has illustrated something truly revolutionary—an expression of the weakness of human roles, and a demonstration of their shallowness. (edited)

This comic has clearly flown far over Hav's understanding of these comics. Of course, these comics dissect human consciousness and their social structures. That’s what they were designed to do. All of them serve as a scathing critique of everything that drives humanity. Pointing this out on its own isn’t complex analysis, it’s the expected bottom line of quality. Should a story be praised for even completing its most basic expected functions? Of course not. There is so much more to it.

I have nothing more to say about the comic.

Perhaps he’ll get it in retrospect. Better to give him time to let it all sink in.

I let the comic sink in. I can't seem to think of anything else. I'm sure I've understood everything.

I suppose I should let time advance meaningfully. This recontextualization will be truly powerful when it comes across naturally. Bob Smith arrived with an unfamiliar girl. ((End session))

Bob is outside the fish store.

Bob decides go up to people and ask if they know a Shawn Duvedlt.

They do not. As Bob passes by an alleyway, he’s pulled into it forcefully.

"Who was that"?

It’s Jackson Day. ((End session))

((AGAIN))

((Saturday))

((I can't beleve you would do this to me))

((Important))

10:24 PM

((I didn’t make this but it’s incredible))

(("What I have done.... is akin to shooting a Sentasaurus...."))

10:26 PM

((He's going to cry to take advantage of me isnt he))

Jackson pulls him further into the alley. "Just shut up and follow me."

"If you're taking me back to that mansion where people are killing each other no thanks."

2:01 PM

Bob still follows. (edited)

"Just hide.” He stopped in front of a dumpster.

"yeah sure"

2:04 PM

"but are you really going to live your life like this"

2:04 PM

"like you almost died"

2:05 PM

"this may be a good idea to quit"

2:05 PM

"idk"

2:05 PM

"why are you doing this"

2:05 PM

"are you going to lie to me again"

"My chances of dying are higher if I quit. I just need to stay away from your psycho friend and figure this out."

"psycho friend"

2:12 PM

"I don't think its very nice to call people that" (edited)

"She blew up our door! What other description would you like? Pyromaniac? Arsonist? Lunatic? Really, what’s the friendly term here?" He clutched his head, as another Team Nine member entered the alley.

"I think the desire to protect someone is quite heartwarming"

2:15 PM

"Prehaps they could have been good friends and people" (edited)

2:15 PM

"If Naomi was a shitty parent"

2:15 PM

"But what can you do"

"Protecting someone seems to be the same thing as kidnapping at this point." Jackson turned to the new guy. "Did she follow you? Did you get away?" "Uh…" They stuck their head out from the alley and looked around.

"Well what do you know about protecting someone" "You haven't protected me from anything despite the fact that you say you need me" (edited)

2:23 PM

"Do you think sheltering someone and protecting them are the same thing"

"I’m not debating semantics here, Bob. You’re delusional, I’m a realist. End of the day, we’re both good people, let’s suppose. No need for your high horse."

"prehaps I am delusional"

2:29 PM

"and this is why I want to be a savior"

2:29 PM

"the smartest people are the ones that succumb to their machinations of their minds" (edited)

2:30 PM

"am I wrong"

"I don’t even know how to begin to address that philosophy…” A gunshot rings out, and the team nine member falls over. "Shit!" Jackson opens up the dumpster. "Hide!"

Bob ducks with them. (edited)

2:35 PM

"Well let me put it in simpler terms"

2:36 PM

"Being realistic allows you to be a person"

2:37 PM

"But being realistic doesn't give you humanity"

2:37 PM

"You are a person"

2:37 PM

"But people nowadays aren't precisely what they should be"

2:38 PM

"They conform to things because their scared and because of this"

2:38 PM

"They lose their free will"

2:38 PM

"Humanity is what all humans should strive to be" (edited)

2:39 PM

"Which is free-thinking minds without a care about anyone's judgement"

"I told you to shut up!" The girl with the gun entered the alleyway, and pointed the gun at Jackson. "You would be... Bob Smith, right?"

"yes"

2:42 PM

"prehaps this entire incident is a metaphor for my thesis"

2:42 PM

"I came with you, and you took away my free will"

2:42 PM

"Of course finding you would just mean finding Bob"

2:42 PM

"Yet you still did it anyways"

2:47 PM

"And you did that because you were scared of losing me"

"Bob, shut up! Shut up! Shut the hell up! Please! Can you take this seriously for 5 seconds?" Jackson. "Oh, so he's Bob. Hi, I'm Sarah." The girl. "I guess this isn't the best introduction though."

"I am serious"

2:48 PM

"Do you think everything I've said wasn't serious"

2:48 PM

Bob waves to Sarah. He sticks out his hand for a handshake. (edited)

"Not kidnapping you or anything, but do you mind coming with me? Naomi wants to talk to you." Sarah does the handshake. "You do not go with her!" Jackson. "Also, what do you want me to do with him?" Sarah pointed at Jackson.

"leave him be"

2:59 PM

"He's a good person, all of us over here are good people"

2:59 PM

"No one should get hurt"

2:59 PM

Bob follows Sarah Stanley (edited)

Jackson grabbed onto Bob's arm. "I can't let you go!" "He's really asking for it, here." Sarah. "I am not asking for it! Please don't shoot me!" Jackson doesn't let go.

Bob puts Sarah around his right arm, and Jackson on his left, and pushes the two together.

3:05 PM

"Come on"

3:05 PM

"Lets all be friends here"

3:05 PM

"And find a resolution together"

3:07 PM

"In fact, lets find Shawn Duvelt. I needed to do something with him"

((Roll))

((7))

They both resisted. "Bob, the second I let you walk out of here, I'm dead! Can you just wait for 5 seconds" Jackson. "Didn't you kidnap him? The 'I'm going to die' card feels pretty cheap in this context." Sarah.

"Come ON everyone" (edited)

3:35 PM

"If you keep acting like this" (edited)

3:35 PM

"Someone WILL die"

3:35 PM

"I think these needs a talking session between us four"

3:35 PM

Bob Smith hollers out to Hav Kerloe in hopes of him hearing Bob.

"I feel like we've established it's him that's going to die." Sarah. "Sh-Shut up! Bob, can you just be realistic and listen to me for 1 second!" Jackson.

"Assuming all the other times you were realistic worked out for you"

3:41 PM

"I ensure you that Sarah will not kill you"

3:42 PM

Bob tries to walk back to Kerloe Fishery with them in tow.

3:44 PM

"If you kill Jackson anyways I'm sure it doesn't actually mean anything" (edited)

3:45 PM

"If you killed the big guy then something would change" (edited)

3:45 PM

"A guy named Jeff" (edited)

"I'm not actually a killer. Putting people in the hospital is actually on the table, though." Sarah. "Can you please stop being so calm about murder!" Jackson. "Yeah, sure." Sarah.

"See how we reached a conclusion without any of our influences pushing us back to do the right thing"

3:53 PM

"lets look for shawn instead of this corporate bull tying you up"

3:53 PM

"anyone know about him"

"Nah." Sarah.

"Does anybody know a sam kidink at least"

"Sam? You know him?" Sarah. "Stop trying to do whatever you're trying to do, and just come with me, Bob! None of this matters if we're both dead!" Jackson. "I'm gonna shoot him." Sarah. "STOP!" Jackson.

"yes"

4:06 PM

"I do know him"

"How's he doing? I haven't seen him in a while." Sarah aims her gun at Jackson casually. Jackson lets go of Bob and tries to grab the gun.

"Well, I'm starting to realize that he's pretty mentally unwell. His mom is neglectful to him. I want to save him."

4:10 PM

"Don't mind Jackson"

4:10 PM

"He wouldn't hurt a soul"

4:10 PM

"Well kill someone at least"

4:10 PM

"preview"

Jackson's got the gun. He aims it at Bob and Sarah. "Stay right there or I shoot!"

Bob stands still.

4:21 PM

Bob jolts back.

4:22 PM

Bob backs away.

4:22 PM

Bob runs around Jackson and tests his fate. (edited)

Jackson doesn't shoot.

"See"

"Fuck." Jackson.

"Tell me the location of where you are taking me and I'll leave" Bob says this to Sarah. (edited)

4:31 PM

"Maybe Jackson can just come with me"

"No, you're coming with me." Jackson. "Naomi just wants to talk to you. She's the old hag you probably met." Sarah.

"Weren't you two buddies back then, Jackson"

4:34 PM

"Can you just come"

4:34 PM

"Im sure you made a deal you two can't hurt each other"

4:35 PM

I walk with Sarah Stanley. (edited)

Jackson grabs Bob's arm again. "This is getting really repetitive." Sarah.

"fuck"

4:51 PM

"how about you two solve your own problems"

4:51 PM

"together"

4:52 PM

Bob decides to fall unconscious and wait a few minutes to what they do unattended.

((Incredible))

Bob wakes up and looks if there is any result. (edited)

Jackson is gone. Sarah is sitting next to him.

"hi."

5:22 PM

"Well I guess that DID resolve itself"

5:22 PM

"preview"

5:22 PM

"anyways lets go"

"Yeah." Sarah got up.

"You got any siblings"

5:24 PM

"Your protection for Naomi was quite the sibling instinct"

"How did you-?" Sarah. "Yeah, I've got some."

"Would explain why you are the way you are" (edited)

5:29 PM

"I would like to meet them someday"

"Trust me, you wouldn't. They're real assholes."

"I'm sure there's good in everyone"

5:33 PM

"Long as they are not corporate"

5:33 PM

"We are all assholes in our own ways anyways"

"My dad was corporate. One of the worst, for sure." Sarah led the way.

"What was his occupation"

"He owned this company. King Burger. Sold it 20 years ago."

"Restaurants... the worst of the worst for sure"

5:38 PM

"What is your siblings names anyways"

"Let's stop talking about my family."

"Invasion of privacy is what strengthens the bonds of people" (edited)

"What?"

"Something I said"?

5:41 PM

"Are we there yet"?

5:43 PM

"I mean"

5:43 PM

"I could talk about my family"

5:43 PM

"Probably because just recently"

5:43 PM

"Jackson told me they didn't exist"

"How?"

"Supposedly I got money from my parents"

5:44 PM

"But Jackson was paying for the money"

5:44 PM

"And then he yelled about me not having any family"

"Like… They’re dead, or something?" (edited)

"I have no idea"

5:45 PM

"But it seems that team nine was covering up for a lot of stuff in my life"

"Huh. Well, if you ask me, it’s a mercy to not know your family." She arrived in front of an office building. "It means you aren’t chained."

"I agree"

5:47 PM

"It tormented for a while"

5:47 PM

"But I realized that everyone around you is family" (edited)

"That doesn’t make any sense."

"That's part of my charm"

5:49 PM

"Is this the place"

"Yeah, her office is inside."

Bob walks in. (edited)

Sarah entered as well. She immediately went into an elevator at the back.

Bob observes his surroundings before entering.

It’s a lobby. There’s a receptionist on the left, and a sign listing businesses on the right. Kidink Legal is on the sign.

"Kidink........"

5:57 PM

Bob enters with Sarah. (edited)

Sarah presses a button, and the elevator goes up.

"Do you really not want to talk about your family"

5:59 PM

"If you do, it shows how much you have averted from them." (edited)

6:00 PM

"If you don't want to talk about them you are just submitting to them, and succumbing to their fear." (edited)

"Just shut up about my family. You don't understand."

"You'll never know if you don't try" (edited)

"I don't need to know anything."

"One day... I'll change the world to stop this from happening."

6:05 PM

"The idea of knowledge and to spread knowledge is a valuable thing. Fear keeps this from working out."

The elevator arrived on the right floor.

Bob observes his surroundings before walking out.

It's a big legal office. There's a lot of lawyers running around. There's a big office in the back with Naomi's name on it.

Bob walks with Sarah. (edited)

Sarah remains in the elevator.

Bob decides to see if Naomi reacts first.

Naomi is not visible.

Bob walks randomly.

"Go to that office." Sarah points out the office with Naomi's name on it.

Bob does as told to.

Naomi is inside at a desk. "Alright, there you are."

Bob waits for a prompt.

"Sit down." Naomi.

Bob sits down.

6:35 PM

"A front"

6:35 PM

"Definitely a front"

"A front?"

"Is this your real job"

6:37 PM

"Do you have a law degree"

6:37 PM

"WHy don't you teach your son about law"

"Of course it’s my real job. My son doesn’t want to learn the practice. He never bothers putting any effort into anything."

"hm"

6:38 PM

"wonder why he doesn't"

6:42 PM

"So what did you want to talk about"

"Those people who kidnapped me. They set you free. Why?"

"I told Jackson that I was the father of the grandmaster"

6:45 PM

"We've met before"

6:46 PM

"he said he was the one that jackson day fears"

6:46 PM

"I'm not sure if he really believed it, but he was very paranoid"

"The grandmaster? What does that mean?"

"The culprit of the "Edlightment mass murders" or something"

6:49 PM

"He says he was in prison"

6:49 PM

"But I defnitely met him at the hospital"

She googled it. "Do you mean Edward Blythe?"

"Blythe"?

6:49 PM

((BLYTHE))

She shows him her screen.

6:50 PM

This man is Edward Blythe.

"Edlightenment, Edward....."

6:51 PM

"They seem to be connected"

6:51 PM

"Can you tell me information about it"

"It's pretty publicly available."

"oh".

6:52 PM

"Might as well give me information now that you are here."

"The point is, you seem to scare them. And as they're after me now, that means I need you."

"If only you start taking care of your son. Where is he anyways"?

"I have no idea. I lost him while I was trapped in that pathetic kidnapping scheme. Thank you for saving me from that, by the way. I'm willing to pay you back for your help, even if you were rather terrible at it."

"I could use some money."

6:56 PM

"Though the real price if you want me with you is a strong bond with each other."

6:56 PM

"I can't afford to be used like Team Nine anymore."

6:56 PM

"Well I guess for the money, I'll just take a phone." (edited)

"You can feel free to bond with Sarah. I don't have much incentive to speak with you."

"Is it because you have other things, or because you are scared"?

7:00 PM

"But prehaps a bond with Sarah can start something."

7:00 PM

"So could I have money to buy a phone?"

She wrote up a check for 600$. "Spend it however you like. I don't intend to babysit you."

"You should consider trying it out more sometime."

7:02 PM

"So can I go? Probably with an escort in case I'm captured by time nine again"?

"Ask Sarah. But yes, that'll be all. Don't run off and do something stupid."

"There is no line between stupid and normal."

7:03 PM

Bob leaves the office with Sarah.

"Oh, wait. One last thing." Naomi. "If you see my son, call me."

"I assure you, this will be my first priority."

Naomi closed her office door.

Bob immediately rushes to get a new phone.

Sarah followed him to the phone store.

Bob buys a phone. Cheapest one there is.

7:07 PM

Bob logs in to his twitter account.

@Harriet Kadin….2!!!!!!!!! My phone broke. You wanted to meet me? Bob Smith

7:13 PM

@Not Shawn Duveldt Hey! Where are you? My phone broke. Where do you want to meet? Bob Smith

Hey Bob! Sorry, I can't schedule anything right now. I'll let you know soon, though

@Schilalyi Hey Bob! Not sure when exactly, but sometime next week?

He does this all in the phone store.

7:11 PM

((Can Bob go on twitter now))

((yes))

"Dang"

7:14 PM

"Well hopefully I have this intact before we meet"

7:14 PM

I go to the camera store.

There is a camera store.

Bob goes to buy security cameras, ones that he can use footage for his youtube videos.

((Security cameras?))

((I want to put security cameras at Hav Kerloes store and then upload footage of it on youtube))

((LMAO))

7:19 PM

These are available.

Bob buys a bunch of cameras.

7:19 PM

But he doesn't spend all of his money. He is rational about this stuff.

Bob now has a bunch of cameras.

Bob races to Hav Kerloes fishery.

[inner momologue] So, he's back. He's brought someone else this time, too. I hope they can pay for their meal this time, it would be bad if they couldn't.

"Hi"

2:14 PM

"uh"

I smile weekly.

"fuckin"

2:14 PM

"I'm a technician on my spare time"

"Thank you for telling me that."

"I'm here to give you some security cameras"

"That would be wonderful. For free?"

"Yep"

"What are you doing?" The girl.

[inner monologue] Things seem to be going fine... I don't think he's concerned about me anymore. That's good to see. I'm not sure what I'd do with security cameras, but if I pretend I know, then there shouldn't be any issues. He should think I care about the store. Because, well, I do care about the store. It's important to sell fish. Maybe if the store looks like I have security cameras set up, it will make it look like I care more. Indeed, seeing what happens in the store while I'm not here is unimportant, but society deems safety to be an ideal. Outsiders will assume I care more, despite the level of care remaining unchanged. (edited)

"Yo Sarah"

2:17 PM

"Could you set this up with me"

"I don't even- What are you doing?" Sarah that's her name Bob said it.

"My motives are complex"

2:18 PM

"Preview"

2:19 PM

"But actually this could be useful in finding Sam"

2:19 PM

"Prehaps we can fucking"

2:19 PM

"Put it online and shit"

2:19 PM

"Start a statewide search"

[inner monologue] They're having some sort of disagreement, hmm. Well, if it doesn't involve me, then I should keep quiet. Or, maybe I should act concerned? It's possible that his idea of a normal action is to involve myself in discussions. On the other hand, he probably already has a perception of me that I am not particularly interested in other people. Which is wrong, of course. But if I went against that, it could make him escalate our interaction in an undesirable way. For now, I'm satisfied with keeping quiet. I say nothing. (edited)

"I kind of doubt that if Sam's missing he'd just wander in here."

I whisper to Sarah Stanley so Hav does not hear: "Hav could lying to protect someone else" (edited)

2:21 PM

"Sam has mafia connections. That's why he's best friends with this dude" Hav does not hear this either. (edited)

2:23 PM

I start speak directly to hav kerloe "So"

2:23 PM

"uh"

2:23 PM

"fuckin"

2:23 PM

"Do you have a ladder"

"No, I do not. Sorry."

Bob still tries to prop some cameras the best he can.

((Roll))

2:27 PM

Sarah walks up to Hav. "You know Sam?"

"We met with Sam" (edited)

2:27 PM

"Long story short"

2:27 PM

"looked pretty bad"

2:27 PM

"Almost like the belto shelk speech a few months back"

2:27 PM

"Preview"

Ehn/PC

((Roll))

((16))

I look a bit confused. [inner monologue] I suppose he isn't going to give me a chance to respond to the question that was asked to me. What an eccentric person. Well, I appreciate him allowing me to avoid saying something, he put in the energy to think for me. That said, it's strange how uncooperative he is with how the rules of human interaction should work. This certainly makes me feel that he understands more than I initially assumed. (edited)

Bob keeps two cameras left so see if he can prop them up higher.

The cameras are placed adequately.

"yo hav"

2:35 PM

"could you uh"

2:35 PM

"do this for me" Bob shows a youtube video of what hav needs to do. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g9NiheW-2po

Daniel Conway

How to: human stepping stool.

[inner monologue] Hmm... I think my best option here would be to do what he says. If he's happy, he's less likely to question my actions. "Yes." I attempt to emulate the YouTube video "How to: human stepping stool." by Daniel Conway, with me as the stepping stool. (edited)

((Both of you roll))

((10 and 11))

This terrible idea works somewhat.

Bob uses his two cameras.

2:46 PM

"Ty"

2:46 PM

"Been a pleasure working with you Mr. Kerloe."

2:46 PM

I shake Hav's hand.

I shake Bob's hand back.

"Cool." Sarah.

2:47 PM

"But seriously, do you know where Sam is?" Sarah.

[inner monologue] Was that addressed to me? From context, I think it was. I suppose I will respond. "No, I don't."

"Can you let me know if he passes by? Or preferably, just tell him to come see me."

"Yes."

Bob leaves Kerloe fishery and waves sincerely to Hav.

2:49 PM

"cya"

Sarah follows Bob.

I smile weekly and raise my hand to Bob in a week wave.

((Channel split?))

That went well. I don't think I'll need to worry about him thinking there's something wrong with me anymore. (edited)

2:51 PM

((I'll be back in like, 20~30 minutes))

Several uneventful hours pass until closing time.

2:55 PM

((Okay tell me when you're back))

((I sure am back))

((Hi))

It's time to close the store. I walk out of the store and lock the door behind me. Another successful ordinary day.

Sean Niebel is headed towards the store.

I LOVE SEAN NIEBEL.

3:47 PM

(( #hav-and-sean ))

((physical description of "sean niebel": a man in his 40s without any remarkable features. wears a kinda expensive suit)) "Closed already?"

((Atmey what time is it))

((It's probably like 10PM at this point? I guess?))

"Yes, sorry. Please stop by from 7 AM to 9:30 PM on weekdays or from 8 AM to 9:30 PM on weekends."

"Mhm. Leaving, then. Wouldn't want to stay here late. Know what happened here last night?"

"No, I don't."

"Really? It was in the news."

"I don't follow the news." [inner monologue] I hope he gets to the point soon. I can't simply walk away, because he implied that he was going to eat here. I need to hope he returns as a customer, and for that I must attempt to lure him in. What an unfortunate situation. I'll have to try my best to hold a conversation with this man. It should be possible.

I respond with some gesture that is neither affirmative nor negative. "Heard anything else happen around here recently?"

"No." [inner monologue] How does he not understand that I don't know what he's talking about yet? He seems to not be able to follow the obvious implications of my words, similar to the man I spoke with earlier. This is why these conversations are so difficult. (edited)

"Hm. Oh. I misspoke. Not the last night. The night before. Early hours of yesterday."

"Still no."

"A shooting happened right here. Don't think you should be ignorant of that. Do you know anything else interesting? Like these rumors about ghost animals?"

"No, unfortunately." [inner monologue] Ghost animals? I did see that cat the other day... Or was that a dream? I don't... Wait, no, of course it was a dream. Cats cannot talk. This makes complete sense. It was a dream, and him mentioning something similar is a coincidence. I really wish this man would stop talking. However, his life has value, his perception of me has value, and I cannot do anything to stop him or stop myself from hearing him. As a stepping stone to understanding the reality of existence, any additional contribution to my work here is invaluable. The more he talks, and the more I respond to him, the more he'll get used to me. The more he'll think of our interaction as normal. And when he does that, he'll be perfectly primed to become a functioning cog in the machine that is humanity. He can let go of the idea that he himself matters, and reach a true equilibrium with the world. This interaction, as uncomfortable as it is, will be worthwhile as a step towards that.

"Hm. Back to fish, then. You sell tuna?"

"Yes! We carry fried or grilled tuna fillet with a selection of various sauces and sides, as well as tuna tartare either plain or with avocado. For more information, please take a look at the menu." I point to the extremely detailed menu that exists on the wall outside of the store, next to the door. (edited)

"Good. I'll buy tomorrow. Or Soniaquill if I'm busy."

"I hope to see you tomorrow!" I smile.

4:28 PM

And begin to walk away.

I leave as well.

(( #hav-kerloe ))

That sure was a successful encounter.

What next?

We head home.

The apartment lobby is empty.

I head to the stairs and walk up them.

Shuichi Maoziwam sits on the steps, smoking. He pays no attention to you.

And I pay no attention to him. Encounter success.

Hav Kerloe arrives on his floor.

I walk to my apartment and attempt to unlock the door.

This happens.

4:42 PM

Wait no the door is already unlocked.

I must have forgotten to lock the door. I should be more careful next time.

4:42 PM

I walk into the kitchen.

4:43 PM

And close the door behind me, locking it.

The whole place is ransacked.

That's not good, is it? It will be fine, though. My brother will be able to help me, he always knows what to do. Before that, I decide to take a look around. How are the fish? (Reminder: there are three tanks in the kitchen (also known as the fish room) and there is one tank in the bedroom)

The fish are fine.

Thank goodness. Whoever did this must have a solid grasp of reality. I decide to go to where my brother lives. ((I (mvdy) do not know where this is but presumably I (Hav Kerloe) do.))

Hav Kerloe does not know this information.

((Do I know his phone number))

((You don't have a phone, why would you))

((Because if I heard it once ever I definitely would have it memorized. If not that then What do I know about how to find him lmao))

((He's more the type to come to you. He doesn't make himself very contactable.))

((Yeah I figured. ok. I'm retconning everything that just happened then 1984.))

4:59 PM

I still check on the fish yeah. Then I leave the room, closing the door behind me and locking it. Then I head back down the stairs.

Shuichi Maoziwam is still there.

I still ignore him.

5:02 PM

And enter the lobby, hopefully.

This happens.

I go to the reception desk and see if there is a telephone.

They have a phone.

I take the phone and dial the number for emergency services in The United States, where I live: 911.

"What's your emergency?"

"Someone broke into my apartment and ransacked it. My address is Apt No. XXX, XXXX XXXX XXXX, Avengard, NY."

"Are you currently there?"

"In the lobby, yes."

"Alright, police are on their way. Do you know if anything was taken?"

"No, I just saw that it happened then called."

Police officers arrive shortly after.

I smile at them.

They head up to the described apartment, taking the elevator. One of the officers looks around the lobby.

I head up as well, taking the stairs instead.

Shuichi Maoziwam is gone now.

So awesome.

In his apartment, police officers are looking around for any sign of the culprit. As soon as they see Hav, they seem to get nervous.

I smile at them.

"Excuse me, sir. Is this your apartment?"

"It is."

5:50 PM

"Please be careful around the fish."

"That suit you’re wearing… Is it yours?"

"I bought it in Shelk a few days ago."

"Do you know the significance of that suit?"

"No, but my brother mentioned something similar. What's the problem?"

"Don’t worry about it. …The criminal seems to have been looking through your clothes. Do you have more than 1 suit like that?"

"This is the only one."

"Alright, thank you. We’ll let you know if we find the perpetrator."

"I appreciate the help.

They leave.

I take off the suit. I don't think I'll be wearing this anymore. Then I open my refrigerator to see if my refrigerated fish is still there.

It’s still there.

I open the cabinet with pans in it to see if there are still pans in the pan cabinet.

They’re still there.

I take out a pan and pour some canola oil on it, then place it on the stovetop. I take a piece of tuna and place it on the pan, then turn on the heat.

6:04 PM

If nothing goes wrong there, I wait for 150 seconds, then flip the tuna over using a pair of tongs.

This happens.

After 150 more seconds, I turn off the heat, and just grab the fish with my hands and bite into it because it's late and I don't want to waste too much time seasoning and preparing an actual meal.

This happens.

I eat the whole fish.

6:08 PM

Then I go to the bathroom and attempt to brush my teeth.

This happens.

Today seems like a good day for a shower, so I do that as well.

((Does Hav not regularly shower wtf))

6:10 PM

This happens.

I dry myself off then put on a new change of clothes, making sure I do not wear the white suit.

This happens.

I head to bed. Night all!

The chapter ends.

Nothing. Either hiding it or really doesn't know anything. Didn't react to Soniaquill's name either. I could search his store, but what could he even be hiding there? No. No. Even if it's unlikely, I need to check. Not losing anything here. I get into my car and drive around the city until around 15 minutes since that man left pass, then return to the fishery and, assuming there's no sign of anyone there, get inside with my keys.

The store is empty, and Sean enters with ease.

Once inside, I lock the door back and search for anything unusual - things that you wouldn't expect in the fish store, connections to other people involved in this - anything suggesting that this store didn't become the location of the shooting by coincidence. (edited)

((Roll))

(7)

There's a tiny security camera. That's all Sean sees.

That was expected. I leave, lock the door from outside and get into the car. I consider other involved people and eventually come up with another idea. This one will definitely have to wait until tomorrow, though. For now... Another night in the car, it seems. Like yesterday, I drive away, switch cars, stop in a place away from used roads, go to sleep and end the chapter.

The chapter ends.

??? awoke in what appears to be a tiny prison cell. There are metal bars on each side, and an uncomfortable looking mattress. There is a small slot that seems to be used for delivering food. The room outside the cell has room for more stuff, and seems like some kind of storage room. There is also another cage that is currently empty.

((see #deleted-channel))

I take a few moments to breathe in my surroundings and pull myself up onto the mattress. "Gah! What the hell? Where am I?"

3:51 PM

Turning up a blank trying to remember why I was here, I walk up to the bars and yell out. "Hello? Who shoved me in here?"

No response.

"Uh... HELLO? Is anyone there?" I kick at the bars. (edited)

"Ah, good. You’re awake." A man smoking a cigarette entered the room.

"Who are you, and what's that rod you're holding?"

"Rod?"

I point at the cigarette. "That thing."

"The cigarette?"

"Whatever it is!"

"It’s a bunch of rolled up tobacco. You smoke it, and it makes you feel good. Stuff's addictive too, so you don’t wanna start."

"That sounds like a waste of time."

4:15 PM

"Well, I don't care, anyway! Who are you?"

"Trust me, in this world, we could all stand for a little free happiness." They chuckled. "Name's Jeff Johnner."

"Jeff Johnner? And what brought someone like you to this place?" (edited)

"What brought me?"

"Is your hearing okay?"

"Heh. Funny. I’m asking you what makes you more surprised I’m here than that you are?"

"I don't know you, but I must have some reason to be here! Even if I can't remember it right now..." (edited)

4:27 PM

"Anyway, knowing why you're here puts me one step closer to knowing why I'm here. Did you put me here?'

"In a sense. I didn’t physically put you here though."

"What did you do to me!?"

"Not much."

4:32 PM

"The face is on good old FB. I take no credit for the work of others. Call me selfless that way." He laughed a bit at his little joke.

"What? Selfless? You just said you have a name."

4:34 PM

"Who the hell is FB?"

He laughed bitterly. "Never mind. Better you forget." For some reason, you do feel very inclined to forget the name FB.

"Ugh... well, anyway, I don't have all day. Can you just let me out of here?"

"Right, of course… But first, could you tell me your name?"

"..." I try to recall my name.

You continue to not know it.

"I... hey, why does that matter to you?"

"Just answer."

"I don't know, okay! I can't remember!"

"Great. Your name is Marco Gould." This is obviously not your name and you don’t really understand their assumption at all.

"What? No it's not?"

"Just trust me."

"I don't trust you."

4:57 PM

"Maybe you screwed something up, but my name definitely isn't Marco Gould. I would remember if I was called something so stupid." (edited)

He sighed. "I’d hoped to make this simple."

"Why do you care?"

"Just don’t worry about it. Stay there, I’ll figure this out." Jeff went to exit.

"What? No! Come back!"

5:08 PM

"I'll give you a name if you want one!"

They left.

"Hey!!"

5:19 PM

"Agh!" I attempt to pick up the mattress.

This is a thing that is possible to do.

I attack the bars with it.

This does nothing.

"Ugggh."

5:30 PM

I stick my hand through the slot and try to intuit how much of myself could fit through it.

Just your arm.

I try to feel around for anything on the wall on the other side.

The other side of what.

The wall! (edited)

5:40 PM

Well they're bars, but you know, the area where the slot is installed. (edited)

There’s nothing beyond a slot.

"Come on!"

5:48 PM

I put a hand against my head and try to wait for about a minute.

Nothing happens for a minute.

"Aagh!"

5:57 PM

"Uh... hah! I'll, uh..."

5:58 PM

I collapse down on the mattress and start to cry.

6:04 PM

With that, I then attempt to sleep.

??? falls asleep.

6:06 PM

A while later, ??? is awoken by a girl carrying a food tray. ((Session end))

((Saturday))

A while later, ??? is awoken by a girl carrying a food tray.

I wake up with a yawn.

2:42 PM

"Aaagh. Uh..." My eyes peer up to focus on the girl. "Who are you?"

"Morning." ((This is what the girl looks like))

I slowly push myself up to my feet and look around. "Where am I, Morning?"

"No, my name isn't morning." She laughs a little. "I was saying hi."

"Oh. Hello?" (edited)

2:50 PM

"What is your name?"

"Eryn Whetchy. Usually I wouldn't tell it to prisoners, but you'll forget soon anyway."

I'm confused. "What are you talking about?"

"Are you planning to kill me?" I slightly clench my fist.

"Nah. The boss is complicating it, but we're basically recruiting you. You should be happy. It's a pretty massive promotion."

"Promotion?" I try to remember how I possibly could have been promoted. "From... what? Since when did I have a job?"

"Well, if you consider prisoner a job."

I sound exasperated. "Why would I be a prisoner? I've done nothing to offend anyone."

"Well, that's the thing. Can you remember anything you've done?"

"What?" I try to remember what I've done recently. "I woke up here, and before that, I..."

3:21 PM

"..."

3:22 PM

"What? Gah! Hey! How could you possibly know what I've forgotten!?" (edited)

"Because we removed the whole memory part of your brain. Well, not me. FB did that. Guy's pretty scary with a scalpel or whatever it is he used. I'm not the scientist at all, here. Still, he kept a few things in there. Like the English language."

"What??" I clutch my head. "What the hell?"

3:32 PM

"Why the hell would you do that to me? That's the opposite of a 'promotion'!" (edited)

"That's not the promotion. The promotion is that you get to be outside the cage."

I non-slightly clench my fist. "So? Why would you attack me if you're putting me on your side, and not that of whoever put me in there?"

"We put you in here, and we're not going to attack you. At least not any time soon, I'm not a fortuneteller. What's important is that you know who you are, but in a weird way where who you are is actually just lying."

"I do not know who I am. You removed my memory."

3:46 PM

"I don't even know what lying is."

3:47 PM

"...Wait, nevermind. Still, exactly what is any of that supposed to mean?" (edited)

"Next time the boss asks, just say your name is Marco Gould. Even if it isn't true. It'll skip all of the hassle."

"What? No! That can't be my name. I don't have any reason to say that."

"He's like... A dead guy. Don't worry too much about it. The name itself isn't that relevant, the boss just kinda misses him. Sentimentality, you know how it is."

"But I'm not him. Why would 'the boss' care about someone who has nothing to do with him besides the same name?"

"He's trying to make you think you are. What with the whole memory loss thing. Just roll with it."

"Then what?"

"Then you can join us. ...Outside the cage."

"Okay, but what are you going to do to me then?"

"Nothing. You'll be part of the squad."

I'm skeptical. "And you don't want anything else from me?" (edited)

"Well, we'll need something when you're with us. Not yet."

"Ack. Fine." I can't think of any other options.

4:36 PM

"How big is your 'squad'?"

"Anyway, so you don't starve." She slid the food tray through the slot.

"..." I pick up the tray and examine what's on there. (edited)

Food™️.

I sigh and start eating the food.

It's pretty good.

Once that's done, I just start playing with the tray. What's it made out of?

Plastic.

I try to pull/snap it in half. (edited)

((Roll))

((10))

It doesn't break.

I try again.

((Roll))

((7))

It doesn’t break.

I try again.

((Roll))

((7))

It doesn’t break.

I try again.

((Roll))

((10))

It doesn’t break.

6:02 PM

((What is this fucking curse of yours))

I try again.

((Roll))

((8))

It doesn’t break.

I try again.

((Roll))

((2))

It doesn’t break.

I try again.

((Roll))

((17))

It breaks.

"...Ugh. Now what am I going to do?"

((Oh my god was there really no plan there))

((It's stimming))

6:07 PM

How sharp do the corners of each half look?

Not that sharp. It’s plastic.

Sure, but snapping a plastic tray like that in half would produce four relatively sharp corners compared to the other four that were already there, wouldn't it? (edited)

Yes.

I try to saw at one of the bars with a sharper corner.

Nothing. (edited)

"Uuuugh."

6:37 PM

I look out at the space beyond the bars. "HEY! Isn't anyone coming?" (edited)

"You awake again?" Jeff entered the room.

"Oh! Um... yes."

"I assume you’ve forgotten your name?"

I hesitate. "Yes."

6:56 PM

"Who are you?"

"Jeff Johnner. And you’re Marco Gould."

"I'm... Marco Gould. Okay."

6:59 PM

"Why am I in here?"

He smiled. "It’s nice to see you again, Marco."

"It's nice to see you... too...?" (edited)

"When you go to sleep next time, make sure to repeat it to yourself a lot. Make it stick."

"My name?"

"Yeah."

"Okay."

"Well, I’ll see you tomorrow. Sleep well."

7:10 PM

??? was hit with a blinding headache.

"Agh!"

7:11 PM

I put both hands against my head. "Uh... I'll try."

7:14 PM

Starting to mutter to myself, I lay down on the mattress face-down. "My name is Marco Gould. My name is Marco Gould. My name is Marco Gould. My name is Marco Gould. My name is Marco Gould."

7:15 PM

"Gaaah. My name is Marco Gould. My name is Marco Gould. My name is Marco Gould. My name is Marco Gould. My name is Marco Gould." I let my chant drift into my thoughts, and with that, try to fall asleep once more.

???

Starting to mutter to myself, I lay down on the mattress face-down. "My name is Marco Gould. My name is Marco Gould. My name is Marco Gould. My name is Marco Gould. My name is Marco Gould."

((SORRY things happen before this message))

7:18 PM

The translucent woman in the wheelchair appeared, before screaming in pain. ((End session))

((hi))

((hiiii))

"Uh... what?"

5:27 PM

I stare at the woman. "What's happening? Who are you?" (edited)

Harriet stares. "You tell me who you are first!"

"I'm... Marco Gould!"

5:29 PM

"Not that it matters. Again, who are you?"

"Who are you talking to?" Johnner.

"What???"

"Oh. I'm talking to that woman in the wheelchair." I point to her.

5:32 PM

"Why is she here?"

He doesn't seem amused. "Goodnight." He walked away.

"Is it?"

5:33 PM

"..."

5:34 PM

"Uh, what was I saying? Why are you here?"

"Uh.. I'm Harriet. And.. I don't know. I'm sorry, I'm just.. really confused. Fuck."

5:35 PM

"Why are you... why are we... in prison?"

"I don't know."

5:35 PM

"You just appeared here. Don't you know where you were?"

"I was at a friend's house. Why don't you know why you're in prison? Aren't they supposed to put you on trial before they lock you up?"

"Trial?"

5:37 PM

"I don't actually remember anything that happened before I woke up here."

5:37 PM

"The group that put me in this 'prison' removed my memory."

5:39 PM

I hesitate. "If you remember where you were, don't you know why you're in prison? Shouldn't you still have your memory?"

"I don't know anything! I was at someone's house, and now I'm here. Is this some conspiracy bullshit? Am I being recorded?"

"I don't know!"

5:41 PM

"Can you stand?"

"No. That's why I have a wheelchair."

"...Then now what are you doing?" (edited)

5:44 PM

"Do you have a way out of here?"

"No. I don't... know any more than you do."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes! Oh my god."

"I'm just supposed to sleep, then. Is that okay? Are you going to get in my way?"

"What? What do you mean, you're supposed to sleep?"

"That's what he told me. 'Sleep well', and repeat my name to myself before I fall asleep."

5:56 PM

"I don't have any better ideas."

"I.. alright. I guess I can try and sleep too. God, this is so weird..."

"Can you sleep sitting on that thing? Won't it be too uncomfortable?"

"I can sleep while sitting down, it's fine."

i look skeptical. "Okay."

6:02 PM

"Fine. Let's just try to sleep here now."

6:03 PM

"You first?"

"Alright." Harriet leans back and closes her eyes. Tries to think of nothing.

I watch her.

Harriet realizes the concept of tiredness seems to no longer exist for her.

Harriet jerks to alertness. "Fuck. Okay, that's not working."

"What?"

6:08 PM

"You said you could."

"Okay, well, now I can't. Why don't you try?"

"...Uh, I suppose I can."

6:13 PM

I lay on the mattress face-up and start to mutter to myself. "My name is Marco Gould. My name is Marco Gould. My name is Marco Gould. My name is Marco Gould."

6:14 PM

I slowly lower in volume as I let the chant drift into my thoughts, and attempt to sleep.

Marco falls asleep. This somehow makes Harriet lose consciousness. The chapter ends for both.

"I might know where Sam is"

2:50 PM

"I've been reflecting on ths final conversation we had together."

2:50 PM

"For one"

2:50 PM

"He said his name was fucking"

2:50 PM

"Shawn Elliot"

"What?"

"Do you know a shawn elliot?"

2:51 PM

"He said that was his real name."

2:52 PM

((for proof))

2:52 PM

"We might need to keep this name in mind"

2:52 PM

"But that's not all"

2:52 PM

"He said something peculiar to me"

2:52 PM

"Something about leaving the town?"

2:52 PM

"It was very hyperspecific."

2:53 PM

((for proof))

2:54 PM

"Could we try and leave here in order to see what we can get"

"There are a ton of places someone could go out of Avengard."

"Prehaps we use our intuition"

2:55 PM

"Preview"

2:56 PM

"Lets try if we can find him first"

2:56 PM

"Otherwise we can like"

2:56 PM

"fucking"

2:56 PM

"tell naomi to do a statewide search"

"I don't think she could actually do that."

"well, more the reason to try."

2:57 PM

Bob attempts to try leave somewhere outside avengard.

This would be Shelk.

((what))

2:58 PM

((oh))

((The city))

Bob tries asking civillians if they know a Sam Kidink or Shawn Elliot.

((Roll))

((14))

No one knows Shawn Elliott. Some people recognize Sam Kidink but they have no additional information.

3:08 PM

"Hey, Bob. It's getting late. Where do you play to stay?" Sarah. (edited)

"Hm"

3:08 PM

"Good question"

3:08 PM

"Supposedly in my house"

3:08 PM

"But idk if its still invaded by team nine"

3:08 PM

"What even happened to jackson"

"No idea. I scared him off, and then he ran."

"What a coward"

3:10 PM

"He'll learn eventually"

3:11 PM

"I guess we can go to a motel somewhere"

3:11 PM

"But I guess families don't really sleep in the same bed"

3:11 PM

"I guess Ill let you decide"

3:11 PM

"We're pals, right"

3:11 PM

"Preview"

3:12 PM

"Im going to do some stuff on my phone"

3:12 PM

Bob checks three things. First, is the security camera footage.

Hav is alone in the shop.

3:14 PM

"I'd consider us more like business acquaintances."

Bob sends a tweet to shawn dudvelt.

I do that.

SentSawTooMuch

@Not Shawn Duveldt I am a changed man No more having to talk behind bars I am free So when do you want to the interview Preview

Bob Smith

Jump

Go to message!

@Not Shawn Duveldt I am a changed man No more having to talk behind bars I am free So when do you want to the interview Preview

Bob Smith

Thirdly, Bob sends a tweet to sam kidink.

Bob does this.

SentSawTooMuch

@y' I know where you are. I'm sorry for everything I couldn't control myself Lets come back And set things right

Bob Smith

Jump

Go to message!

@y' I know where you are. I'm sorry for everything I couldn't control myself Lets come back And set things right

Bob Smith

"So"

3:20 PM

"Did you decide"

"Hm? Decide?"

"Where to sleep"

"Oh, I'm just going home. You're on your own for tonight."

"Goodnight"

3:24 PM

Bob wanders further into town. If he doesn't find anybody who knows Sam's last location, he makes one final trip to the bar where Wilfords at. (edited)

The current bartender is not Wilford. (edited)

"Whats your name?"

The bartender gives a name. This is not a character in any notable sense.

"One Jalapeno latte please." (edited)

((Does Bob have his wallet?))

((Yeah))

3:29 PM

((He got money from Naomi))

((Oh right))

3:31 PM

The bartender, who I think is actually a barista, gives the order.

Bob drinks it.

3:35 PM

Bob decides to fall asleep in the bar.

3:35 PM

((If there isn't anything else I can do the chapter ends))

He is woken up by the barista. He cannot sleep here.

Bob goes to Naomis place. (edited)

Bob does not have Naomi's home address.

((not even her office?))

3:44 PM

"There has to be someplace to sleep"

3:44 PM

"Im family"

3:44 PM

"people let each other sleep in places they need"

((Her office is not what I assumed you meant sorry))

Bob goes to Naomis office.

Not many people are around. Seems like they're closing up soon.

bob goes to naomis section. (edited)

Her personal office is already closed.

"Why aren't people here for me? I thought people were supposed to accept me" (edited)

3:50 PM

Bob decides to sleep inside the office.

((Chapter ends))

3:50 PM

((So does the session))

Sam is currently inside of a car falling down a cliff.

((wait what? ok)) Well, there's nothing I can do now. Perhaps I was wrong to assume that any of this was possible, though maybe it was my fault for trying at all... And that taxi driver... That was Gordon, from earlier? That makes no sense! I should've been able to figure that out much earlier! Something strange started happening as I tried to leave, too, like I simply wasn't allowed this freedom... I wonder, was I being punished for not trying to help more earlier and just leaving? ...It doesn't matter anymore. Now what? I'm... way too tired to be coming up with anything useful. Since I was planning to get out anyway, I should check to see if it's even possible. Sam attempts to break the window as described earlier. Regardless of whether he succeeds, he then looks out to see if he can determine anything outside besides there being a cliff and that he is falling. (edited)

The bottom of the cliff seems to be some kind of forest.

It's a forest. Not some other highway. Unfortunately, it's unlikely that all of this will end in my death if that's the case. ...Being severely injured would really be much worse, so I should avoid that, if nothing else. ...Did I really learn anything from that conversation in the cell? And why did Gordon bother if I was going missing and Jackson and the others seemingly already gave up? Am I just overthinking it? ...My head still hurts. Sam attempts to climb on top of the car, taking his backpack, though he's not even sure if this is physically possible. If it is, he tries to assess the situation further from this point of view.

The car is still falling. When Sam attempts to get on the roof, he just falls out of the car.

Sam attempts to gauge the distance until he hits the ground.

About 0 meters. Sam hits the ground now. It hurts like hell, but the fish prevents him from getting any permanent injuries.

...Unfortunately, I wasn't able to prevent myself from being injured. Of course, my fall was broken by this... fish. Seriously, what is up with this thing?! I suspected it might break my fall, but it's a hard object. I should've been impaled by a bone or something, I don't know. Anyone who's ever been to a fish store knows this, I'm sure. ...Is there something I'm failing to consider? Also unfortunately, I was unable to cause my own inevitable death. At least the pain should subside eventually. I hardly feel like I can keep going, but there's nothing better for me to do, is there? I may as well figure out if there's anything this thing can do which I failed to account for earlier. Maybe it'll help me take my mind off of all this, and I'm all alone. Sam rests a bit (laying on the ground) to try to clear his head and also because he is currently temporarily injured. After whatever amount of necessary time passes, he gets back up. First, does this still work? Sam first takes out whatever is left in his backpack, even though everything is probably broken by this point. Then, he eats some of the fish and throws the empty backpack at a tree.

What was in his backpack again?

His laptop, a notebook, and basic school supplies. And a water bottle he got at the fish store some days ago. (edited)

The laptop is broken. The rest is damaged but probably still usable.

Well, I doubt I'll be getting a new laptop anytime soon... That's fine, though. Is my phone broken too? Sam checks his pocket for his phone. He then still attempts the above actions (eating fish, throwing empty backpack at tree) to see if something happens. (edited)

The phone is also broken. The other things work as usual.

3:27 PM

The fish is still magic.

Okay, it's the same fish. Now, what can I try? This thing broke my fall, so something's definitely wrong. I get that it keeps regenerating, but that seems to have been nearly irrelevant earlier. Back at the mall, I attempted to collide the fish over a solid object, but it regenerated instantly, so I couldn't. Do I have a better way of testing this? My laptop is broken, so I could use that. Will the fish still regenerate over it? Or is this all impossible? Sam attempts to jam the broken laptop into the fish through an edge. If this fails, he eats the fish first and then tries again, hoping the extra strength will help. (edited)

((It broke your fall in the sense that you were too Strong™️ to die. Sorry for the confusion)) (edited)

((that's fine)) Sam tries this anyway, more so out of curiosity.

The laptop is stabbed into the fish without issue.

So, anything can replace part of the fish for as long as necessary. This makes sense; otherwise, eating it at all would probably break your teeth. So, when I remove the laptop... Sam takes the laptop out and checks both the laptop and fish.

The fish regenerates. Nothing happens to the laptop.

I suppose it was too ridiculous to expect any of this to apply to objects instead of people. ...If I really only sustained minor injuries because I had eaten the fish prior, it means that this is at least slightly more useful than simply extra strength. ...I had figured that I wouldn't be able to put myself in danger regardless of this, especially considering the number of times I've been shot by now, but it seems this could also help defend myself. ...If I ever get into another situation where that arises, as unlikely as that is. Is there really no way to at least use the fish for something else? I'm struggling to come up with ideas now, and there's not much else I can do besides strength testing, and that just seems boring. I'm in no position to be doing any cooking, at any rate... Sam attempts to use the laptop to cut the fish in half. (edited)

4:25 PM

((I may have to go for like. an hour lol but I'll try to stay as long as possible))

((Roll))

((4 lol))

The fish is not accurately cut in half. The bigger piece regrows.

So this does work. The part of the fish left doesn't need to disappear. In theory, if I cut it in half more accurately, would I be left with two copies? I want to try it again, but I'm not sure if it's even possible. There would always be a larger half unless I was perfect, right? ...At least I have free food. Sam first sees it he's allowed to try and cut the bigger piece (now regrown) in half again, and he does so if possible. (edited)

((Roll))

((7. dice really doesn't want me to figure this out))

The same thing as before happens.

...Well, maybe later. Clearly, I have no future as a cook, but that's expected. Wait, maybe that's a good thing...? I have two smaller pieces of raw fish now. Maybe, even if I can't test that, I can test if any properties are even retained on the leftover pieces. If they aren't, then maybe nothing I can do would duplicate the fish. I'll accept that Ehn was probably right there. ...Speaking of, I know Ehn's not coming back ever, but what was her deal?! The only reason I'm here running all these tests, pointless or otherwise, is because that happened, and yet I was allowed to keep this for some reason. I would assume that Ehn could deactivate this fish somehow. ...Perhaps I should just make the most of it. If she saw me here right now, I'm sure she'd think this was completely unexciting. As for me, I'll decide if this was worth it when I'm done here. I have no clue what I'll do after this, but perhaps Sophie was right about plans not being necessary sometimes. It's a bit of a miracle that I even got to this point at all. Sam cuts off a part of one of the smaller pieces and tries to see if anything regrows. He then attempts a test by 1) throwing his empty backpack at a tree again, 2) eating that part of the fish, 3) throwing the backpack again to see if he feels any difference at all. (edited)

Sam is still strong so the fish does nothing.

...I should've considered that the effect from earlier probably hasn't worn off. Maybe I'll have to try later. Unless the strength effect has never worn off and I've not been thinking about it this whole time. I'm not sure if that would be good or not. This just feels like taking drugs at this point, which I would say is a waste of time. Is there anything else I can do? I've been thinking of any possible interesting properties this thing might have, but this may unfortunately may still be a simple matter after all. I considered feeding the fish to some sort of animal for a second, but that seems pointless. Though, if one comes by, I suppose it wouldn't hurt to try. I should recall that I'm in the middle of a forest I've never been in, I have no idea where I am or how to get anywhere useful, let alone any sort of contact, and it's unlikely anything else will happen soon. I had Jackson's gun in my backpack earlier, but I didn't find it earlier. Maybe I forgot to check? Sam checks his backpack to see if it is there. He also decides it's been long enough to try sawing the fish in half for a third time. ((sorry I forgot about the gun earlier https://discord.com/channels/959192904184778753/979770545082093568/1010651928272834601))

The gun is there, but it’s questionable if it’ll still work. ((Roll))

((2))

Once again, bad fishcutting.

Well, at least if I keep doing this, I'll get more raw fish. If I get enough pieces, maybe I can make another fish. Like that one ship paradox. Why not? I'm here alone, I can walk around as much as I want. It's as I said, this is really the perfect time to be thinking about everything. Sam attempts to do this by cutting off various pieces, then trying to put them back together. Though he doesn't expect this to work considering the earlier attempts. In more realistic news, he also then tries to see if the gun is still working by holding it up to the fish and shooting it, though he doesn't expect anything new to happen.

((Roll))

((16))

The gun shoots the fish.

The gun still works, I guess. I also have a bunch of pieces of fish now in addition to the earlier one. ... Sam takes a deep breath and lies on the ground. ...This is all pointless, isn't it? It's unlikely to matter at all, and all I've done here is prolong my inevitable death instead of just instantly dying. There's nothing I can do here anymore, and whatever I was trying to figure out clearly didn't pan out. I have some thoughts on other events, but I'm ignoring them. That was my own decision. If I could just at least get out of here, that would be nice, but even that seems unlikely considering it still has to be nighttime. Maybe I wasn't allowed to do anything interesting with this or anything else which happened. If that's the case, though, why did I even get this thing? Was there any plan in giving me such a useless item to work with? I know Ehn said other people got items as well, and I said myself that I'd have to watch out for them! Surely most of them had more interesting things to work with than this. I'm just here accumulating fish, and not even entire ones. None of this is helping me actually do anything, and I don't know if I can even do anything anymore. I could probably sell this to Mr. Kerloe, considering he apparently does eat raw fish as well. ...Mr. Kerloe. Didn't he get a fish as well? Was it the same as this one? Was it any more useful? It had to be, right? Could I have swapped the fish all the way back then? This one can't possibly be useful for him, let alone anyone else!

7:53 PM

I've been thinking this way and actually seriously entertaining this thing. Is this waste of time what's keeping me tethered to everything that's happened? Maybe if I just left it behind earlier, I could've escaped all of this, unless I've already been too far in this whole time. Maybe that's it. Though, I'm more inclined to simply believe someone's simply not allowing me to escape at all. ...It's too late now. I'm already as good as dead anyway, right? I'm sure Gordon thought so. So much for all that about making my life or anyone else's interesting or even 'normal'. I can't do that if there isn't even anything to do. What can I do if I'm stuck here? Even if I leave this forest, I'll probably end up back in Avengard again. ...Seriously, if I'm not allowed to have anything interesting in my life, maybe all I can do is make other people's lives more interesting, right? That's what I said earlier. I'm sure that would at least give me something to do. That's all in theory, though. There's no way I can get out of here anyway. ...I'll give it just one try. Sam continues to simply lie down at least until morning comes. Then, he gathers all the items (including the fish "leftovers") and sets off away from the forest in some random direction to see where he ends up.

((Roll))

((16))

Sam stumbled upon Gordon heading to the crash site with a gun. Gordon has not spotted him yet. ((End session))

((did you ever consider saying 'sam attempts to cut the fish in half repeatedly until he's satisfied with the division'))

9:13 PM

((you're killing me))

((I did, but it's very in character for him to just give up))

10:04 PM

((from an outside perspective yeah you should simply just say try until it works))

((Saturday))

Sam Kidink started a thread. 9/21/2022 1:41 AM

Sam stumbled upon Gordon heading to the crash site with a gun. Gordon has not spotted him yet.

...He's here. I suppose he wanted to confirm my death, especially since I left the car. Leaving really is impossible, isn't it? After all this, I still ended up back where I started, and he's still here too. Maybe I'm just going to die here sooner or later anyway if whatever nonsense underground negotations keep going like this. ...Was Jackson right? I would just try to ask him these questions right now, but considering last time, it's unlikely... This reminds me, wasn't I supposed to have been let go? Despite all of that, Gordon still went out of his way to deal with me again. I have three ideas. One, Naomi went back on trying to bail me out, which wouldn't be surprising. Two, whatever negotiations were going on then were never actually meant to hold, which also wouldn't be surprising. Three, Gordon is just having too much fun. ...I'm sure he has those answers, but I'm not sure if I can get them. Should I just go? Maybe I should just figure out what he's doing. Sam tries to find somewhere to hide behind and also takes Jackson's gun out from his backpack.

((Roll))

((1.))

Gordon immediately spots him. "You're alive!?" He sounds weirdly relieved.

...That went well. I don't know why he's acting like this, though. Maybe I can ask something now? "Somehow, yes. ...I don't get it either, really. Your organization - or whoever you're working for - was trying to kill me, then let me go, then tried to kill me again, and now you haven't immediately tried to kill me. ...Should I even be alive right now?"

"No. You're uh, you're about to die now." He raised the gun and aimed it at Sam.

...Great. Well, I should probably at least still try to get some answers before I fall over, right? "...I figured. Honestly, I've sort of accepted that I'm inevitably going be killed sooner or later, so this situation is fine." He raises Jackson's gun and points it at Gordon. "...Are you being threatened, too? The last guy I met said that. He also said that it was impossible to escape from whoever's behind this. Well, I tried anyway, and now... I don't know what to think. Maybe he was right. But what do you think?"

"You're a kid dealing with the mafia. I'm not sure what you expected. This is already an impressive enough performance."

"People run away from situations all the time. Aren't there tons of missing people every year? Some of them are younger than me, and I doubt all of them were simply killed underground. ...I thought I could just escape and get rid of everything since there's basically nothing left for me here, and start over somewhere else. Didn't seem so hard on the surface, really. I thought I was close at one point, but maybe I never was. I have to admit, tracking me down in the taxi service was already impressive enough. Maybe someone put a tracking device on me while I was unconscious, or something. But it might be too late to be realizing those possibilities." "...I mean, you wouldn't know if you hadn't tried, right?"

"..."

"I was going to disappear anyway, right? You could've just labeled me dead, too. That was part of the idea. I'd be helping you make me disappear. An interesting setup, if you ask me." "...I get it. I'm basically dead now, and it'll probably be meaningless and uninteresting and all the other words I can come up with. But, if I can, before that, I'd like to at least know the point of going out of your way to do this. And I'd never ask Naomi or the Sentasaurus, that's for sure." "...There's too many possible reasons I've thought of ever since I've been trapped in all this, and none of them are impossible. Normally, I'd like to be able to figure it out myself, but I'm out of time."

"Going out of my way to do what? Kill you?"

"Exactly. Or, well, the mafia as well. ...I asked someone else, and all they said was that Naomi was a lawyer for some other opposing group. None of that is particularly specific, and I could care less about why she is doing that in the first place. What are the groups involved, and what were they even doing before this? I have many other questions, but those are the most important ones." (edited)

"Why would I answer that? You're about to die here."

"That's exactly why. Curiosity aside, I think everyone wants to figure out why things happens to them. Unfortunately, there's a lot I've been unable to figure out, and even less I've even been aware of, whether it's about this situation or anything I was doing before this. It doesn't feel great, really."

"Things are happening to you because you met Bob Smith. You can blame him for all this."

"...That's it? No complicated politics going on underground related to that? And that was a chance meeting! I don't know why he suddenly started obsessing over my life or even Sophie's for that matter, and he just kept trying to meet me afterwards for no reason! I never watched his channel, and I certainly never wanted anything to do with him, yet he kept trying to get me involved in whatever nonsense was going on with Team 9 or the mafia or whatever other organization! I'm entirely unsurprised it's his fault, really, but how could some unstable actor ruin my or anyone else's entire life like this?! He's not even going by Bob Smith anymore!"

"Just stop thinking about Bob Smith." He seems to have an idea. "I'll be nice to you. Just for a second. Tell me you'll stop looking into this whole Bob Smith thing, and I'll let you go."

"...If you had given me this offer earlier, I would've taken it immediately. The problem is, I tried to do that. I thought he was an incomprehensible mess and tried to ignore all of it and just move on. Go to school, walk around the city, maybe go to Mr. Kerloe's store, you get the point. That was my early conclusion. Yet, for some reason, I was quickly pulled back into all of it again, whether it was his doing or someone else's. I was forced to engage in all of this, I've tried to get away from it in every way I could think of, even abandoning all of what I said earlier, and now I'm here, still stuck in the midst of it all, and it still feels like I could die at any moment." "It feels like I'm too far in to simply be given an out like this. ...At this point, it's difficult to believe that I'd be able to just get out like this. How can you guarantee that he'll let me stop looking into this?"

"Simple. Let's just... All pretend you're dead."

"I like that idea. However, that's what I was trying to do just now, wasn't it? Start an entirely new life somewhere, new name and identity and all that. But we still ended up in this situation - I was still unable to leave. ...If you have better ideas, I'm listening, though."

"So we agree, then. You just... Never step foot in Avengard again, and we can all pretend you're dead."

"...Yes. If you can make it possible, at least. That's why I asked for a taxi in the first place. I was trying to leave on my own, but the only ways out of here are roads."

4:54 PM

"Granted, it's a bit difficult to trust you driving a car, for example, since last time, but I can't say I have any better options." (edited)

"You've already left. There should be some cities nearby."

"We're outside the city right now? In that case, sure. point me in the a reasonable direction, and I'll just walk over there. If it's that simple."

"You promise you won't just run back home, right?"

Part of me thinks that maybe I should be trying to at least understand why this entire mystery around the Sentasaurus or whoever else. That's what I said I'd do since I got caught up in this, right? I thought Gordon would just confirm that I had no way out of this. But if I can leave right now, that takes precedence, doesn't it? Am I just being too hopeful by attempting to take this sudden way out? ...No, this still is the best option. "You think I want to return there after all this? I'm not even sure if Naomi wants me to return. Well, unless I get kidnapped and sent back there, I'll stay away from Avengard. ...If you could help me sort out me changing my identity and all that, that would be nice, but I suppose I can figure it out."

"I'm done helping you."

"Fair enough." He starts heading away, though he keeps the gun up just in case. "What made you change your mind, anyway? It's hard for me to believe you would just let this happen. My only impression of you is that you were trying to killing me. And that you like fish, I guess, but neither of those really help me understand this decision."

"Just… Generosity. Don’t question it." He seems uncomfortable.

"...And you're somehow confident that allowing me this option will be better for you. Well, thanks, I suppose."

Gordon left. ((I love remembering sessions.)) (edited)

((you were popping off somewhere else. it was probably worth it)) I have no clue why he left, and I probably won't ever know. I must admit that his decision to go about things this way could be interesting, but I can't think about that right now, nor is there much point in doing so. Anyway, have I finally done it, or is this just another trap? I'll be cautious, but either outcome is probably fine at this point. I've been wandering around this forest for far too long to be concerning myself with that. All of this has been quite tiring, and while it somewhat disappoints me to be leaving this mystery behind, this outcome is preferable to the many risks associated with that. ...I still have the fish. If I'm leaving for good, is there any reason to keep it? ...Well, it's hardly conspicious, so perhaps it's not a huge deal. There's a bunch of half-fish and other fish parts in there as well. At this rate, I could just start my own fish store... Maybe I should try again, actually. It's been long enough, and as much as I enjoy walking around, just being in a forest feels a bit aimless. ...When I feel like trying. Sam begins to head in the direction he was pointed towards (or just continues heading down whichever direction he was going in). After a few minutes, he stops to take out the fish and tries to saw it in half with the laptop again because why not.

This is a thing that is possible to be done.

He does so and sees what happens.

((Roll))

((5 lol))

It’s not cut evenly.

Well, that was a fun diversion. Maybe if I don't get anywhere soon enough, I can just keep doing this. At least I'm going somewhere, though. Does either part regrow?

The bigger half regrows.

Part of me was wondering this would just stop working when I left the city, but I guess not. I hope all of this - whether it's Ehn or whoever else - doesn't go beyond that city, because if this is on a larger scale, then am I truly free? ...Well, this whole fish nonsense has little to do with the mafia, so I'm probably fine. Maybe it's best not to think about a talking dog's motives. I should just keep what I got out of it. Sam walks for a few more minutes. If he still hasn't reached anywhere, he stops to try again.

Sam arrived a cool, comfortable looking town. End session.

((Saturday))

((please cut the fucking fish))

7:16 PM

((just roll over and over again I do not care if atmey likes it))

(("it's probably meaningless anyway," sam thinks))

Sam arrived a cool, comfortable looking town.

Now that I think about it, I haven't actually had the experience of being in a new location before. ...Even I'm surprised I got here. I'm sure that if I try, it'll work out, though. In my current state, if I just walk around, will anyone know who I am? Does whatever organization Gordon was talking about have connections this far away? ...Well, I should trust that his plan made sense, right? Maybe it should be fine, though I should exercise caution. When everything settles down, I can relax more. ...Is there a map somewhere? Probably not. Maybe I'll ask someone if I can't figure out anything. Asking one person probably shouldn't hurt. Sam glances around, but he partially tries to cover his face by holding up his backpack. How many people seem to be there? Are things particularly busy? Has anyone noticed him yet?

It’s a normal town. No one's really paying him any attention.

Everything seems normal so far, just as I was hoping. Events in Avengard really are local to the city, despite its scale. ...That's interesting, though, isn't it? It's like that city is somehow isolated from everywhere else. ...No point thinking about it, though. In these circumstances, I should focus on figuring things out here, right now. Sam simply tries to find someone random who seems like they have too much time on their hands and walks up to them. Attempting to speak in a different tone from usual, he asks "Hello, I've just arrived here. Any idea where I can get directions around this town?" (edited)

"Directions?"

"I'm not sure what exactly is here and where to find it. Any information you might have would be fine."

"You should talk to Father Morgan. At the church."

Sam glances around to see if the church is conspicuously there, or at least some particularly tall building. If not, he asks "And where would I find the church?"

The pedestrian gives him directions.

"Thanks", Sam says. He then goes there and asks whoever seems to be there. "Hello, I'm new here. I was looking for information about this town - what goes on here, where everything is, and so on. I was told to find a 'Father Morgan' for that information. Is he here somewhere?"

"That would be me."

((sprites??? like the Sentasaurus???)) I'm inferring that this town is probably religious to some extent. I'm surprised places like this exist anymore, especially in New York, but perhaps I simply never knew about them. That's the whole point of exploring, though, isn't it? There's something new out there all the time. I used to explore the entire city of Avengard, so this is really just the same thing, right? This could all be quite interesting. At any rate, I should probably address him probably. Wouldn't want to cause any issues right now. "I see. Well, Father Morgan, I suppose you must know a lot about this place. What goes on around this town? What important places are there here, and where can I find them?*

"Important places? In what sense?"

"Well, I know this church is probably important. Are there any other buildings here I should know about, like police, schools, and so on? What would you say happens here on a day-to-day basis? I've always cared about how people go about their daily lives."

"There's a school. A police station. And so on, as you put it. We are functional."

...Always good to check. "Glad to hear that. Can you elaborate on what 'functional' means? For example, what would you say you do on a daily basis? I've seen many ways in which people do things, but I doubt I've seen as much as you."

"What I do? I give sermons to the believers. Take confessions. Maintain the church. It's not all too fascinating."

I must admit that everything he's said is more or less what I'd expected. In that sense, it's definitely boring. ...I don't have anything better to do than ask for more information, though. Might as well see if I can still get something out of this. If I asked anyone else, they'd probably just redirect me back here. "Well, I've never actually met someone who does this for an entire town, though I must admit that all of this is quite expected. But in that case, why do you do this if you don't find it fascinating?"

"The lord is benevolent to those who show him favor in turn. I don't desire misfortune to fall upon me."

"Well, certainly there are many ways to 'show favor' in that case, right? Is it not possible to maintain a living you enjoy while doing what you have to?" It's basically like homework, right? "I knew this guy. Owned a restaurant of sorts, but he seemed to enjoy the normal day-to-day events, albeit with a side of being obsessed with a certain type of food. But he was still a reasonable and interesting person. It's like that."

"It would be appreciated fi you did not compare the lord to a food item. But do go on."

"Sorry. My point is, people have things they truly care about, and I would say that there are always ways to get the lives they want. Otherwise, I wouldn't have made it here. I almost didn't, in fact. So I would say you could find a way to do what you want to do as well."

"I see. Will that be all?"

I suppose I might be bothering him. Definitely wouldn't want to take any risks right now... "Well, I'd ask for your thoughts on what I said or any other advice you might have, but I suppose you might be on a busy schedule. Thanks, I suppose."

"Oh, right. You asked what's around. I assume you must be a tourist then? Have you found lodging yet?"

Well, honestly, if I wanted to keep things as simple as possible, I should really just sleep in the forest or something. Maybe that would be a good idea for long, though. It's probably best to get this information. "...In a manner of speaking, I am, yes. I haven't found anywhere to stay yet."

"Try the Petersons. They offer their home as a bed and breakfast."

"I see. Where are they?"

He gives some directions.

"Okay. Thanks." Sam then walks away. Since he dodged my earlier question, I doubt he wanted to respond. Well, that wasn't the most interesting statement ever. He didn't say anything too unexpected, and by his own admission everything is 'normal'. Him realizing this could be indicative of something...? I'll think about it later. Regardless, there are a lot of people here, so much like with Avengard, I'm sure there are some interesting people in these parts. I should just go for now. Then... Well, things seem relatively safe, so I should be fine walking around. ...Is it really mandatory that I go there? It's as I said earlier, I don't have to, right? Dealing with all the potential consequences of that seems messy. ... No, this is probably for the best. This can be my current 'homework'. Sam goes to the Petersons and knocks on the door. (edited)

A woman opened the door. "Oh, hi there."

"Is this the Petersons? I may have to stay somewhere for some amount of time. Not sure yet."

"Aren't you a bit young?"

I should've expected these sorts of annoying questions. Couldn't everything just be similar these days? I mean, this town probably doesn't have the millions of checks and customs I'm sure exist in a large city. "Not really. I should be old enough to work, at least, if that's a concern. I simply ended up in this town, so I suppose I'm looking for things to do."

"But you are an adult, right?"

I should just say yes. Explaining all of this would lead to many more questions that I really don't want to deal with right now. Should I have gone here at all? Did I just make a mistake? I mean, there was no need to... Whatever, I'll just get this over with. "...I am."

"Alright, then. The price is (reasonable amount) per night."

Sam checks his wallet which he should still have on him and sees if he can pay this somehow since it is reasonable.

He can.

Well then, I suppose I can stay here for now. Either way, I should definitely figure out something so I can go through with all of this. Maybe I can figure that out when I walk around. Sam pays this amount in advance. "By the way, do you know what sort of work people tend to do around here? I was looking to do something while I'm here."

The woman describes normal jobs. There is nothing particularly special.

Most of this isn't all that interesting, but that's fine, I think...? Am I under some sort of misconception? Well, maybe I'll find something where I end up talking to people and all that. Work at some store, who knows. It certainly wouldn't hurt to ask for her opinion. "Out of curiosity, what would you say are the most interesting events that happen in this town?"

"Most interesting events?"

"Whatever you think is unique or unexpected. Those are the main ones. Or, if you'd prefer a simpler question, maybe just what you enjoy doing around here."

"There's a lot to enjoy. The community is really great."

This feels like a bit of a non-answer. If she said something like 'The usual events are interesting,' I might have something to think about, but I'm starting to think there's nothing to understand here. "Any specific examples?"

"The Nielsens are really fun. Father Morgan is a kind man." She continues to list off more names.

Listening to her listing off people isn't going to give me any information I couldn't get by just walking around. "I see. Where would the Nielsens be?" Sam attempts to close the conversation.

She gives an address. "Anyway, come in. I’ll show you to the room."

I'd rather just go somewhere else, but I doubt anything good will come of trying to leave. Sam follows along.

She led Sam to a comfortable-looking room.

"I see, thanks. Is there anything else I should know?"

"We’ll be having supper in half an hour. If you miss it, you’ll have to make your own."

Right, I forgot that almost forgot food exists. I've probably been dealing with raw fish too much. Well, I'll come back if I feel like it. This isn't enough of a concern for me to commit to coming, and I'm not sure I want to considering how dry this conversation was, but we'll see. "Okay, thanks." Sam decides to head out. So, I suppose I'll go to the Nielsens' then? Usually, I'd say the appeal of going nowhere in particular is not knowing who you'll meet. I've been asking questions that streamline this entire process. Hopefully I'm not hurting my own investment in all of this. I mean, there's nothing wrong with just following along in this case... Sam goes in the direction of the Nielsens. If he finds that place, he knocks on the door.

((in a few minutes I will probably only be sporadically active for a few hours so if you want to end session here then that works for me))

((End session.))

((No session this week))

((Saturday))

This young man opens the door. "...Hm? You're not... Who are you?"

((intuition't)) How should I approach this? I've received a lot of non-answers so far, so perhaps I should be more direct this time, especially considering I haven't received particularly good answers most of the day. ...I'm realizing I came here without a specific goal in mind. I mean, that was the point, right? Seeing as things have calmed down, it's quite reasonable Isn't that sort of contradictory? Actually, I should just say something. He was expecting someone else, right? 'You're not...' whoever he was looking for. "Hi, I arrived in this town recently. I was looking for interesting people and was told to come here. ...Anyway, how are you, and were you looking for someone?"

"No, I... I'd say closer to the opposite. But you shouldn't be here. Go away."

... Should I just go, then? I'm not sure if I would want to get into any trouble right after getting here, but I at least want to get something out of this. "So you were hoping someone wouldn't come? In that case, is me being here really an issue? I hope I'm not the person you were expecting."

"Just go. Now." He reveals a small kitchen knife.

sigh "Fine." Sam backs away a bit. "But can I at least come back at a later time?"

"No. Just get lost. You don't want to meet them."

"...So you have no idea when they'll come? Well, whatever..." Sam walks away as he says this. Considering this is the first thing that has actually happened, part of me does want to know what's going on. Maybe I could watch from nearby? I doubt this is going to actually get me killed, but who knows what might occur. ...This didn't really take long, did it? ...I'll just go back to where I'm supposed to, wherever that was. Which house was it, again? The Petersons. Right. He goes there.

The Petersons welcome Sam back. This girl of about Sam's age is also there now. She waves to him. "Hello, it's nice to meet you. I'm Autumn."

"Hi, nice to meet you as well. ...Do you live here? I'm not sure who here is staying and who's visiting."

"Yes, I live here. It's always great to get to help people find comfort." She smiles.

"I see. Well, that's good to know. I'm guessing you're one of the Petersons, then?"

"Yes, that’s correct." Someone further inside the house called for supper.

Is the woman Sam talked to earlier here? If not, he goes ahead into the house.

Autumn followed. The 2 adult Petersons were seated around what was likely too much food. 4 seats were laid out.

Okay, this is a bit strange. There are four seats, which really means no one else is here. I figured that considering the priest guy's recommendation that at least someone else would be here. ... Sam waits to see if anything important happens, and if not, he speaks. "By the way, I went to the Nielsens, and some guy there forced me to go away. I wouldn't really say I got anything out of that, but it's possible I don't know something." He primarily directs this question at (presumably) Mrs. Peterson.

"Oh, Thomas? Yes, he’s in that phase all teenagers have. You know how it is." She laughs a little. Autumn makes a similar laugh as she sits down.

I suppose I wouldn't call that 'normal', nor a phase all teenagers have, but perhaps I really should go back to check. ...Well, actually, I guess that one time Ray had a crowbar on him comes to mind. Not that dealing with him was particularly enjoyable. "I see. Thomas, huh? So, do you think he would've actually harmed me if I kept asking questions, or anyone else who came by? I wasn't sure, really."

"Thomas is all talk, but you should still keep away from him. He’s not a very fun person." Autumn.

Well, I'd rather want to find out what was happening if he really is all talk... I don't think there's much else I could do right now besides go up to someone else random, but I don't know what I'd expect to happen in the first place. "Is anyone else there, then? I've also noticed that everyone seems to know each other in this town."

"Well, Aura's there too. But you probably wouldn’t like her. And there’s their parents too." Autumn.

I see. I'll take the relative silence otherwise as there not being any disagreement on that. Then why did Mrs. Peterson say that? ...It's probably useless to understand this. "...On an unrelated note, you said you like to help people find comfort in this town. Are there any particular reasons?"

"There’s no feeling quite like helping someone." Mrs Peterson. "Just last night, I was tutoring sone students." Autumn.

That's it? I mean, it's not like that's an absurd answer... I don't think asking about who the students were is useful at all. There are all sorts of people who just do things because they seem right. I guess it's all expected as is. "Well, what if you were unable to help someone? Or what if you helped the wrong person and got into trouble for it? Or if doing so was dangerous to you?"

"I have more faith in us than that. Well, maybe not Autumn." Mrs Peterson laughed. Autumn laughed along uncomfortably.

"But ability aside, I'm not sure if you can know if it's the right call to help some random person or even be involved with them."

"Trying to be a good person is always the right call.' Autumn. "Well, we do a lot more than try." Mrs Peterson.

...I wouldn't gain anything from debating being a good person. "What do you mean by doing more than just trying?"

"I mean that we truly do help." Mrs. Peterson.

"...Well, I suppose that's good. You did help me, after all." Sam finishes eating if he hasn't already, then stands up. "Thanks for the food. I'll probably have to go out for some time after this, but I should be back eventually." If no one has anything else to say, he leaves the house.

It’s getting very late at this point.

...It's fairly safe here, and I doubt any guys in suits would show up here. It may be late, but there are two things I should still do. First, it wouldn't hurt to stop by the Nielsens' again knowing what I do now. The second... I suppose that's only a conditional. Sam goes to the Nielsens' house and knocks on the door again.

Ashley Laurier is at the door. She seems to be in a panic. Inside the house, talking to her, are an adult woman and Thomas Nielsen.

Ashley woke up in her bed.

She stretches and yawns, having had a great night's sleep last night. Getting up to… Wait. Ashley feels a sudden sense of apprehension. Where did she fall asleep last night? Didn't she end up falling asleep on the floor while using her phone? Did someone come into her room move her onto the bed, or…?

No explanation is magically provided.

This isn't good. She's definitely going to have to take extra measures to ensure the privacy of her room— the prospect of someone being able to enter even through a locked door opens up many dangerous possibilities. Ideally, she should take care of this before she next goes to sleep.

3:01 PM

But now's not the time for that. It's school time!!

Ashley pushes those thoughts out of her mind, jumping off her bed and putting on her clothes for the day. She skips out of her room and down the stairs into the kitchen, heading to the toaster to make herself some toast like always. (edited)

"Good morning." Lilia is there.

"Good morning, mom!

How's it going?"

"Good. I had a nice dream."

"Oh, really? What was the dream about?"

"I forgot."

"Oh. Well, uh, I'm glad it was nice anyway!" She giggles at this. (edited)

3:24 PM

As the toast is being prepared, Ashley thinks of a new Twitter banger. She pulls out her phone to post this.

@loveloveguilty:

((We have reached the level where metalcicada canonically exists in Advehnt Guard. Good job))

((

I'm just that cool))

((does trinity fiction exist in ag))

((The endgame is that someone finds Don'tAtmey in AG and gets him to make AG))

((what if we're already in the AG world))

Ashley Laurier

@loveloveguilty:

junietheroach: this is a way better fact than the usual tbh. you should replace the current owner

@loveloveguilty: so true… i would make sure the fandom only gets the facts that really matter

((Very inefficient toaster))

((I thought you were looking at twitter lmao. I do not stop you from toasting toast))

5:29 PM

The toast is done.

She grabs the toast and checks the time. "Is it that late already?? I should be heading to the bus stop right now!" She quickly puts her backpack on and opens the door, making sure to call out "Have a good day mom! Love you!" After this, she starts running to the bus stop with the piece of toast in her mouth like an anime girl.

5:37 PM

The bus arrives soon after.

Ashley gets on the bus.

The bus continues in the direction of the school.

While riding the bus, she looks wistfully out the window. Her life seemed so normal up until yesterday, but now she's worrying about all these things she'd never thought she would pay any mind to. She'd have to maintain an appearance of relative normalcy while at school so that she wouldn't arouse any suspicions. She gets lost in thought about various plans and strategies to enact, as well as how funny her Twitter oomfies are.

The bus arrives at school. Aura can be seen messing around outside.

Oh, thank god she's here. Ashley was worried that she would be kept home by her brother or something like that after what had happened yesterday. Maybe now they can clear things up. Is Thomas anywhere nearby?

Thomas doesn’t go to this school, so no.

Ashley smiles and waves to Aura to try and get her attention. "Auraaa! Hey bestie!!

"Kyaaa!" She pretends to be shocked. "Hey bestie!"

"It's nice to see you!" Ashley internally breathes a sigh of relief at seeing her seemingly calmer now. "How's it goin'?"

"Did I worry nyou?" The nyou here means both you and nya. Very simply translation.

"A little, if I'm being honest," she chuckles. "But really, are you doing alright?"

"We should probably get to the bestie hang out spot, ya know? Autumn's probably waiting there."

"Haha, yeah..." Ashley suddenly drops oomfie mode completely and just stares straight at Aura, her expression hardening, trying to give off the most serious and direct impression possible. "Aura, I seriously want to know. Are you feeling alright? I'm sorry for what happened yesterday, and I want to make sure there are no hard feelings. If there's any way I can help you with anything, I'm ready and willing. I just want to know how you're doing." (edited)

"You'we acting reaw sewious fow no weason hewe. Come on, wighten up."

"It doesn't have to be serious!" Ashley finds herself inadvertently saying this with more force than she intended. "I'm not trying to make you take this any more seriously than you want to! All I want to know is how you're feeling because I care about you. What's so serious about that? Isn't that what all friends are supposed to do?"

"Oh! Do you see that?" Aura pointed behind Ashley.

Ashley looks behind her while simultaneously tensing up her body to grab Aura if she tries to run away during the opening.

There’s nothing. Aura tries to run away.

Ashley lurches forward to grab her by the arm as she's running away.

"Hey, come on, bestie… Can’t you just let this go?"

"I don't want to...! Look, I promise it's so much easier to just talk about this than it is to keep avoiding it. It just makes everyone feel worse, and nothing gets solved! Wouldn't it make sense to at least try? Even a little, not just for me, but for you too...?"

"I dunno what you’re talkin' about, nya."

"You- Just yesterday, you were on the verge of tears when I came over, and now you won't tell me how you're feeling at all. I mean, I'm not crazy for thinking there's gotta be something going on with you, right?! Anyone would think the same! All I'm trying to do is help you work things out, because I care about you. Please...?"

"Sounds like you had a real nyaghtmare. Come on, bestie, let’s just goof around and you’ll get over it."

"A nightmare..." She shakes her head. So she's never going to acknowledge it, no matter how I press the issue. It'll be a waste of time whatever I try... Maybe I should try a different approach if this is getting me nowhere. Sighing, she finally relents. "I guess you're right. Sorry for getting so worked up about it."

"Yeah, you should relax. Come on, let's go do something more fun!"

Reluctantly, Ashley goes along with her.

Aura headed to the usual meeting spot, where Autumn was waiting.

"Hey Autumn." She waves halfheartedly, but still with her usual level of admiration. "Morning."

"Good morning, Ashley. How are you?" Autumn waved back. ((End session yeah))

((Saturday))

"Good morning, Ashley. How are you?" Autumn waved back.

"I'm... doing alright." She forces a smile. "I actually have some things on my mind that I'd like to hear your thoughts about, preferably later when we're alone. But as of right now, doing fine! Just another school day."

"That’s great. I’m always here for you, Ashley." Autumn. Aura is silent.

"Thanks!!

️ How are you doing today?" (edited)

"I’m doing great. I was helping to tutor some students last night, and I think I really helped them make some progress. It’s a wonderful feeling."

"That does sound great, hehe! Whenever I hear about how you're doing, it's always about you working to make everyone around you happier, too." Ashley nearly lets out a sigh of relief. She should've come to Autumn first before anything else... Who's she met that's ever been more willing to be a safe shoulder to lean on? She could trust Autumn with anything, no matter what. Yes, she would surely be able to fix everything.

"Of course. That's what good people do." Autumn. "Good people could stand to relax a little. ...Nya." Aura.

Ashley turns to face Aura, her smile even more forced now. "What do you mean by that, bestie?"

3:04 PM

"Good people aren't good people because they sit around doing nothing. The only type of people who do that are the lazy and useless." She shrugs. "There's a reason the phrase 'sin of inaction' exists, don't you know? With the amount of people out there who might need your help, what do you think that makes you if you turn a blind eye to all of them just because you want to relax? Is someone who does that a good person? No, I think the proper term is 'selfish'."

"Exactly, Ashley." Autumn smiled proudly. "People should really learn from you. Aura, why don't you help someone for once? I think you've had quite enough relaxing." Aura laughed it off. (edited)

Ashley nervously giggled a little as well. "Anyways, what time is it? Class should be starting soon, right?" (edited)

"Right, let's go." Autumn led the way to class.

This time, Ashley tries sitting right next to Autumn. Her strategy didn't work yesterday, so maybe if she's more direct about it…

Aura doesn't come into class. When Ashley sits down next to her, Autumn turns over to her and smiles. "Oh, hi there."

"Hi!

" She's still a little nervous, but tries her best to ignore the butterflies in her stomach. "So, that thing on my mind I wanted to tell you about, would it be better to do it now or after class?" She pretends to nonchalantly glance around to see where Aura is sitting in relation to them.

Aura continues to not be in the class. "Right now works fine." Autumn.

((Oh I am so good at reading))

4:38 PM

((It's fine this works as Ashley paranoia characterization))

4:43 PM

"Great. Basically, the thing is..." Ashley launches into a whispered explanation of what's going on with Aura. She summarizes enough to ensure she doesn't run out of time before the teacher comes in, but also makes sure to touch upon all the important parts. "...so I think it's her brother who's behind all this. There's no way he could act that suspicious and not be responsible. I just don't have any idea of how I'm going to help her, and since, well... since you've always been so helpful to everyone, I thought you'd be the best person to tell about this."

"Oh, so you heard about that. Yes, I've heard the rumors before."

"The rumors…?" There's no way Autumn knew about this without doing anything about it, right…? No, it's probably that she didn't want to act without knowing if those rumors were true. Obviously she wouldn't ignore a situation like that.

"Yes, Thomas Nielsen is rather unpopular. It's inevitable those kinds of people attract bad attention. They're practically asking for it."

"Well, I guess you're not wrong. Damn..." Should I have figured this out sooner? Paying more attention to rumors might be more helpful than I thought, if it's for my friends' sake. "Still, that's not the point. How are we going to get Aura out of this? I don't want this to keep happening to my friend even a day longer."

"Get Aura out of what?" Autumn.

"Out of wh-..." Had she not been clear enough? "Out of her abusive family situation...? You know, so she doesn't have to be afraid or get hurt by her brother anymore, right?"

Autumn sighed. "The truth is, Ashley... I called them rumors because they're just rumors. She's not really in any kind of danger, and she isn't actually scared."

"What do you mean?? How is- I mean, I saw her at her house, and she didn't feel like she was acting at all. How do you know it's not real??"

"Because this has been investigated before. The result was simple. She's not being abused or threatened." Autumn looked at Ashley seriously. "I didn't want to hurtyour friendship by telling you this, but... Aura is just a very selfish person. I think, whatever she did to make you think like this... She was jealous you were spending time with me instead of her. She tricked you so you'd pay more attention to her. That's just the kind of person she is."

"I--" How should Ashley even react to something like this? She doesn't think Autumn would lie to her... but dismissing it just felt wrong, somehow, in a way she couldn't explain. "I can't believe that. I mean, Aura's never tried to get my attention with this stuff before. It was only because I accidentally noticed her brother getting in an argument with her that I found out at all. And if she really wasn't in any danger, don't you think Thomas would just explain that instead of telling me to go away forever? He attacked me and everything! Do you think someone who's stable and harmless does that??" She shakes her head. "Isn't it possible that whoever investigated what was going on made a mistake, somehow? Or that Thomas hid the evidence of what was going on?"

"I understand how you feel, Ashley. But it's the truth. I mean... Listen to the way she talks. The way she acts. Doesn't that strike you as someone desperate for attention?"

"Maybe she's desperate for attention because it's what she needs. If she's really being abused, attention is the most natural possible thing she could be desperate for. Behaving rationally is the last thing I'd expect someone in her place to do..."

The teacher entered the class. "Let’s get back to this later, okay?" Autumn.

Ashley grimaces. "...Fine."

The teacher begins the lecture.

6:01 PM

"Mari Rantasila From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Jump to navigationJump to search This biography of a living person needs additional citations for verification. Please help by adding reliable sources. Contentious material about living persons that is unsourced or poorly sourced must be removed immediately, especially if potentially libelous or harmful. Find sources: "Mari Rantasila" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (November 2017) (Learn how and when to remove this template message) Mari Rantasila Mari Rantasila.jpg Rantasila in 2013 Born 7 January 1963 (age 59) Pori, Finland Other names Ritva Leena Mari Rantasila Occupation singer, actress, director Website www.marirantasila.com Ritva Leena Mari Rantasila (born 7 January 1963 in Pori, Finland)[1] is a Jussi Award-winning Finnish actress, director and singer. Contents 1 Career 2 Personal life 3 Filmography 3.1 Films 3.2 TV 4 Discography 4.1 Albums 4.2 Singles 4.3 Appearing on 5 References 6 External links"

"Career Rantasila studied as an actress at the Helsinki Theatre Academy, during which time Jouko Turkka was working as a teacher. Rantasila graduated with a master's degree in 1987. She is best known for acting in the TV series Raid (2000), in which she played the female lead, and Kotikatu (1995–2001, 2008–2009). In 2015 Rantasila acted in the Petri Kotwica film Henkesi edestä (Absolution). Rantasila became known as a singer in 1989 with the song "Auringossa" (In the Sun). In 2000, she sung the theme song of the TV series Raid, "Vain rakkaus" (Only Love). In 2000, she won the Best Female Soloist Emma prize. Rantasila has also worked as a songwriter since the disc Kaipuun kääntöpiiri. Markku Kanerva has also composed many of Rantasila's tracks. Rantasila has directed short films and three Risto the Rapper films: Ricky Rapper (2008) and the sequels Ricky Rapper and the Bicycle Thief (2010) and Risto Räppääjä and Villeä Venla (2012). In 2016, Rantasila won the Best Supporting Female Actress Jussi Award for her role in Henkesi edestä (2016).[2] Personal life Mari Rantasila's original name is Ritva Leena. She began using the name Mari as a 15-year old before changing it officially in the 1980s.[3] Rantasila's brother Juha Rantasila is a former professional ice hockey player.[4]"

6:11 PM

The rest of this gag is skipped due to repetitiveness. Class ends.

Ashley stands up and moves to speak with Autumn, wasting no time in jumping straight back into the conversation. "Look, who even was it that investigated Aura anyway? Shouldn't I have heard about this happening?"

"The police." Autumn gathered up her things.

"The police?! The-" She nearly buries her face in her hands. Autumn, the girl who supposedly knows best how to help anyone in need, thinks the police are seriously a solution?! It's all falling into place now. Of course that gaggle of pigs who know nothing other than upholding the status quo wouldn't be able to help one of their friends when it really mattered. Does Autumn actually not know about their history of brutality and oppression?! And she thinks she can help people with that attitude! Ugh, what a waste of time. "If you're just going to go off what the police think, maybe it's better if you don't try to step into matters of abuse in the first place." (edited)

"Being so confrontational is really immature of you, Ashley."

"Ngh-! I just..." Ashley sharply looks away, trying to hide that she's on the verge of tears. "I don't think th- I just wanted to say that maybe y-you... That you're not..." The butterflies in her stomach multiply in number, fluttering up into her throat and closing off her voice. Suddenly, she can't say anything she wanted to get out before, and a wave of dread and regret washes over her. "I'm sorry... I-I didn't mean to-..." is all she's able to get out.

Autumn places her hand on Ashley's shoulder. "It's alright, I understand. I just wish you'd trust me more."

"Y-Yeah... sorry..."

Ashley Laurier started a thread. 10/1/2022 7:20 PM

She wipes at her eyes with the sleeve of her shirt, and clears her throat. "I'm fine now. Thanks for telling me about Aura, either way- I'm glad I have someone like you to help me work through these things, even if I can get a little heated about them."

"It's no problem. I'm glad to help." Autumn walked towards the door. "Have a good day, Ashley."

"Thanks... you too!

7:32 PM

She waits there until Autumn leaves the room.

Autumn left.

Ashley sighs and sits down in one of the chairs. At least Autumn doesn't seem to think any less of her, and that's what matters. Her words still sting a little, but the worst outcome was avoided. Hopefully they can both just treat this as water under the bridge. She then pulls out her phone and opens the browser, selecting the 'shopping' tab and looking up 'gas mask', searching for their availability at local stores.

There are stores that sell gas masks locally.

She smiles, gets up, and decides to take a trip to one of those stores before heading home.

As soon as Ashley leaves the school, she can spot Aura drawing in the dirt with a stick.

Hm. What's she drawing?

This stupid thing.

Ashley walks up to her. "Hey, uh... any reason you weren't in class today?" she asks, not really expecting an answer.

"Oh, hi bestie!" She got up.

"Hi." Ashley can't even really manage her normal enthusiasm at the moment.

"What's wrong, nya?"

"Oh, nothing, just... I dunno, tired. Wish I had your endless supply of energy sometimes, you know?"

"You couwd bowwow it if you wannya!" Aura. "Get away from her." Thomas approached the 2 of them. "Get. Away. From my sister."

8:10 PM

((Session end))

((Saturday))

"Get. Away. From my sister."

Ashley takes an instinctive step back, balling her hands into fists and tensing up for a fight. "O-Or what? I haven't even gone over to her house since last time. I've followed what you asked perfectly, or is it now a crime to hang out with my friend at school?!"

"You don’t know what you’re doing." Thomas. Aura has just kind of frozen in place.

"Then why don't you tell me?! What am I doing?! Because, seeing as I clearly keep getting in your way over this, shouldn't it be a better idea to clue me in about what the fuck is going on?!"

"Just stay away. There’s nothing you can do to help her."

Ashley tries her best to stare Thomas down without hesitation or nervousness. "Well, we have a conflict of interest here. I'm not going to stop until I know what the deal is with her, and you're not going to stop until you get me to stay away. So how about we work together on this one?" She crosses her arms. "If you drop the cold and mysterious routine and explain all of this to me, I won't go near her again. In fact, if there really is nothing I can do to help her, finding out why should be just the thing to discourage me from doing so."

3:07 PM

Admittedly, she isn't sure whether this is going to work. There's not a single cell in her body that isn't still burning with the desire to help her friend, despite how much Thomas and... Autumn... have tried to convince her otherwise. But if she can just convince him to reasonably explain the situation, she'll get that much of an advantage.

"I don’t owe you a single explanation. And I don’t consider my motives in evasiveness to be particularly hard to guess. I hate your type. Arrogant and self-righteous." Thomas. "Cweawwy we got off on a wwong foot hewe! Wet's just chiww out!" Aura forces it.

"Hey, if you want to make things worse for yourself, that's your call. Maybe the reason I get to act righteous is because I'm not the child beater here." She turns her nose up at him. "I will never bow my head to someone telling me I should just give up when my friend needs my help. If you want me to stay away from her, you're going to have to drag me away, kicking and screaming. How's that sound?" (edited)

He just kind of stares at Ashley for a moment, with a look of deep disgust. "…Are you desperate to die a martyr for the first obstacle you see or do you just love the sound of your own bragging that much?"

"Yeah, whatever, dude. It's not like I had high hopes, but deflecting the blame onto me instead of talking about your sister just proves how little you actually care. Oh well." Ashley shrugs. "So what are you going to do about it?"

Aura's usual cheeriness briefly fades, and she looks at Ashley with a mix of anger and disgust. Then she smiles again suddenly. "Oh, he’s just goofin' around!" Thomas sighs and stares at the ground. "Come on, Aurora. It’s just gonna get worse if you get stalled by people like her."

Ashley turns to Aura with an expression of pitying concern. "Aura, are you sure you want to go with him? I understand if you feel like you have to, but I want you to know you'll always be safer with me." She smiles to try to reassure her best friend.

Thomas suddenly grabs Ashley by the shirt collar, enraged. "Do you really think you can magically stumble into this and make it all better? You can’t do anything."

"I don't care what you think I can't do." Ashley spits in his face.

For a moment, it almost looks like he's going to cry. "I had the lowest expectations for you, and you've still failed." He shoves her to the ground. "You're a child. A stubborn, narcissistic child. Do you really think anything you can do can ever actually help anyone? There are 8 billion people in the world. What makes you think any of them, let alone you, could do anything? That any person on this godforsaken earth could make a difference? Why wouldn't they have already done it? Huh? Answer me!"

She slowly picks herself up off the ground, trying hard not to cry herself. "Better to try and fail... than to be the coward that never tried at all," she weakly gets out, brushing herself off.

"...Tch." He grabs Aura by the arm, and drags her away.

((hi))

((Hi sorry I'm still typing)) (edited)

5:43 PM

Ashley tries to get up and follow after the both of them, but comes to a stop after a few steps. No... Nothing's going to be solved if she recklessly tries to fight Thomas off. She already had a plan to deal with this, so the best thing to do is to stick to it. A thought pops into her head. She tries to remember if the school has a baseball team or equipment for it stored anywhere.

There's an equipment room by the gym. A gym who's existence definitely does not contradict current lore.

Phew. She wanders over to the non-lore-contradictory gym.

It's empty right now.

Good. It's not likely that anyone would question her for hitting the gym anyways, but she's better off concealing all her steps towards her goal for safety's sake. She checks in the equipment room to see if there are any bats.

There's a bunch of cheap plastic bats that clearly haven't been used in a while. Inside a special glass case at the back is a large metal bat, signed by some professional baseball player.

Any way to open the glass case?

It's locked. You'd have to break it.

Certainly a choice. The bat would be invaluable to her plan, but being forced to leave evidence behind would put her at a major disadvantage. A metal bat being stolen would no doubt draw attention to any incidents later on that might involve it, and that'd surely narrow the pool of suspects down to those attending the school. Not to mention, what in here would even be heavy enough to break a glass case with?

There are many heavy objects in the room.

Like...?

Bowling balls. That kind of thing.

Ashley stares at the bowling ball, then back at the glass. Yeah, there's no way she could take the bat without getting unwanted attention. But maybe she can improvise. Instead of going for the bat, she puts the bowling ball into her backpack and starts walking out of the equipment room. Not optimal, but it'll do.

Dilemma resolved.

With that taken care of, she walks to her local store with gas masks for sale, as planned earlier.

These are on sale for the price they would typically be on sale for.

((Looking up gas mask prices is not helping here))

((Let's go with the 45$ sure))

Ashley looks in her wallet to see how much money she has on hand right now. Given that she usually saves up for important occasions such as this, she's hoping she can afford it, considering it's the only thing for this plan that she has to spend money on.

((Money is included in the possessions list, I don't choose it sadly))

((What is the possessions list))

6:35 PM

((Wait you mean like the list of things she has that I'm supposed to give you))

((Yeah))

Okay. Ashley walks up to the cash register with the gas mask and the 100 dollars she has of which she is going to use 45 of to pay for the gas mask.

It is purchased yup.

Satisfied with her purchase, Ashley leaves the store and heads home, putting the gas mask in her backpack.

7:00 PM

Before entering, she checks to see if anyone's inside.

Her parents are home.

...Whatever, shouldn't be much of a problem as long as she acts nonchalant about it. Ashley opens the door to her house.

Her parents continue to talk to each other.

Alright, easy enough. She was worried that they were going to ask her how her day was going, though as she goes to open the door to the garage, she realizes that it was a bit of an unrealistic expectation anyway. Works out nicely for her. She opens up one of the boxes in the garage, rifling through its contents until she can find a jump rope, which she promptly stuffs into her backpack. After this, she exits the garage and heads back inside. Ideally, she could simply grab everything she needed from the garage as well as from under the sink, but her parents would probably question her making multiple trips to the garage with different bags, and they'd definitely ask about what she was looking for underneath the sink. Hopefully she'll be able to get everything she needs tonight once her parents move to their bedroom, though she'll likely have to move more quietly at that point so that she doesn't wake them up. It shouldn't be too much of an issue, just a long wait. Then there's the matter of how to handle the operation itself. Is Thomas going to be waiting for her outside again? Hopefully not. The best case scenario is that he's inside the house, then answers her knock at the door, and she can catch him by surprise with the bowling ball. But if push comes to shove, she was able to sneak around him at his house before, so she could do it again if she really needed to. After knocking him out, the hard part is going to be dragging him to one of the rooms in the house. It's likely any room will do, though one with a lockable door and window would be an ideal setup, especially if it's low to the ground. He'll be tied up with the rope by then, so even if he wakes up, he won't be able to do much.

8:05 PM

From there, it's a simple process. Put on the gas mask, pour the mixture into the buckets. She probably won't have to bring many, but she should bring more than she thinks she needs just in case, especially if the room she has to work with is larger than expected. After that, with the door locked, all that'll be left is climbing out the window, shutting it as she goes. Again, being low to the ground is much better— she needs to be able to get back into the room somehow, and it'd be preferable to just climb back in and not have to break the lock on the door. Wait long enough, and then head back inside. Untie him and drag him out back. She'll find a tree with a branch to hang the rope from, tie it securely, and hang him from the other end. But disguising it isn't enough... she can't leave evidence behind. After arranging the body, she'll have to go back and dump the contents of the buckets somewhere in the woods. Spread it out so that it won't cause too much of a problem, and open the window so the gas dissipates from the room. After that, put the buckets back in the bag, and throw them away in the garbage somewhere. If all goes well, that should be the end of it. Yeah, the end of it...

((Holy shit))

((

))

((That took barely any fucking prompting))

The end of "it"? "Arranging the body"? Ashley starts sweating. She's not just talking about any normal plan here. Seriously, this is a murder plan... she's actually going to kill someone... She starts to bite her lip. That's not okay, right...?! Like, that's something that people go to jail for doing! There's no way she can do this to someone who... Well... No. The question isn't whether she "can" do this. She has to do this, for the sake of her best friend. If no one else can help Aura, she's going to do it. She has to be the person who looks out for her friends when they need her the most! Thomas has done nothing but hurt her and his sister. Who's going to miss someone like him? Aura won't. None of her friends will. It'll be over, and then they can return to things as usual, as best friends who don't have to worry about their home lives. That's what Aura wanted in the first place, right? So Ashley's doing a good thing. She just has to do this, and then everything can be fine afterwards. What's one day of hard work compared to the years of happiness she'll have with her besties afterwards? It's nothing, it doesn't matter at all! Everything will be alright, and Ashley will make sure it stays that way. She's going to save her friend's life.

8:14 PM

She suddenly realizes she has been staring into space in the kitchen where her parents are talking for 20 minutes.

8:14 PM

Does it seem like they noticed anything?

Not particularly.

That's good!

She heads to her room to check the latest Twitter posts on her phone.

8:17 PM

Anything new on the feed?

(( this feels like an Ashley relevant topic.))

Don’tATMMachine

#StopTheFungus is now trending. This hashtag is about kicking homeless people out of Avengard.

Jump

Go to message!

((Otherwise nothing new))

Ashley frowns at her phone. This hashtag seems a little weird.

8:32 PM

She tries scrolling through some posts to see what people are saying about it.

The Fungus is some kind of cult of homeless people. They attacked a police station and stole confidential documents earlier today. Police believe there is a single mastermind behind it all, but the followers of the fungus claim it's some kind of mystical entity ordering them to fight back against their oppressors. https://discordapp.com/channels/959192904184778753/1020785220561150083/1020785221467119629 this tweet is seemingly from the real Fungus.

8:39 PM

There are a bunch of other accounts for The Fungus that parrot similar gibberish.

((Hi))

((Sorry can you give me like a bit because of Assassination Classroom))

9:01 PM

((I'll do more after this episode))

((Okay back))

((Welcome back))

Hm. Ordinarily, she'd say something about this hashtag, but... multiple problems stand in the way of that. First of all, she doesn't want to start a Twitter debate at the moment, considering it'd take up way too much of her mental energy that she needs to conserve for her plan. More than that, though, the subject matter of the hashtag would be dangerous to involve herself with when she was already planning out her own crime. For this to work, she has to minimize her involvement in any kind of crime, even if it's just talking about it online. She sighs and stops looking at the hashtag, instead choosing to post about something else— her favorite game Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney. That'd calm her down.